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Latin Recipes & Gastronomy

Aztec Hot Chocolate

Made just like the Aztec’s liked it

January 10, 2022 8:27pm

Updated: January 11, 2022 12:18pm

Hot chocolate is a drink that is known world-wide. Its origins, however, date back 2,500 to 3,000 years ago, during the empire of the Maya.

By 1,400 AD, the drink had become important for the Aztecs. They called it xocoatl, and added chilies to the drink. The Aztecs believed that drinking hot chocolate had a myriad of health benefits.

Nowadays, it is a drink that is found all throughout Latin America in various sizes and flavors.

In today’s recipe, we try to recreate the Aztec version of the hot chocolate drink.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 chili pepper, split in half and seeds removed
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • A pinch of salt

Directions:

Melt the chocolate with a little milk over medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Heat mixture, but do not boil. Discard the pepper. Serve into mugs.