How People Around The World Drink Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate is hot chocolate, right? One study shows that the majority of Americans, around 62%, prefer their drink traditional. But what makes it traditional? In North America, it typically means that the hot chocolate is made using steamed milk with cocoa powder and then topped with marshmallows to seal the deal. For a lot of us, there's simply no other way to drink hot cocoa. In fact, Smithsonian Magazine points to hot chocolate and marshmallows as being a distinctly American tradition. 

Although marshmallows are a candy as old as time, quite literally drawing lineage back to Ancient Egypt, the modern marshmallow was first created in 19th-century France. The American iteration came to be more or less in the 20th century, and the leading marshmallow manufacturer sought to add marshmallows to as many recipes as possible. While some of the more eccentric combinations like a mayo-marshmallow-lettuce salad faded into obscurity, the wonderfully enriching ooey-gooeyness of a hot chocolate bedecked with marshmallows stays as an American hallmark to this day.

But it may come as a surprise to learn that there's a world of possibility out there when it comes to the beloved winter drink. Just as you can find a variety of hot chocolate variations stateside like water versus milk or marshmallows versus whipped cream, there are many ways different cultures serve this time-honored drink. Read below to discover different ways hot chocolate is sipped around the world.

Vienna is a city with a rich coffee house culture, so it should come as no surprise that the city would have a refined take on a classic hot chocolate drink. For a very long time, hot chocolate was something that only aristocrats could afford. It would be served in the morning laden with vanilla and cinnamon, according to The World of Habsburgs. To really emphasize the decadence, the Viennese created refined serving sets to enjoy their hot chocolate in, sort of how tea service sets still exist to this day (via Smithsonian Magazine). In some circles, it was not uncommon for these hot chocolate sets to be made out of porcelain and gold. Similar to the French, the Viennese served the drink with a refreshing glass of water.

According to the World of Habsburgs, by around the 18th century, hot chocolate had trickled down from aristocratic circles to coffee houses. It was here, still in an elegant setting, that anyone who had the spare money could indulge in what came to be referred to as a hot chocolate Viennois. While the Viennese aristocracy did not stand the test of time, the drink certainly did. Nowadays, visitors can still go to coffee houses and enjoy a warm cup of hot chocolate. Café Schwarzenberg still offers up a cup, as one review observes, chock-full of vanilla and cinnamon just as it was traditionally made.

In the history of hot chocolate, it was the Spanish who were perhaps the most responsible for introducing it to the European continent. After Cortés and his men reached South America, they quickly learned of the importance of drinking chocolate to Meso- and South American empires and recognized the potential it had abroad. 

Because of this, it comes as no surprise that drinking chocolate is popular nowadays on the Iberian peninsula. Chocolate beverages were originally left unsweetened in the Americas, and Spanish monks were among the first to sweeten up the once-bitter drink. As centuries have passed, the popularity of hot chocolate in Spain has persisted. While it was once a drink only available to the likes of kings, now it's common for children to enjoy a cup of chocolate with breakfast. 

Spanish hot chocolate remains decidedly thicker than other iterations of the drink. The Spanish prefer to pair their hot chocolate with a little snack. They tend to serve their hot chocolate with churros. The drink is so thick that it's used as a sauce to dip the fried-dough sticks in (via Salt and Wind). It's not the breakfast of champions, but it may be the breakfast of hedonists. And for some, that's exactly as breakfast should be, at least once in a while. 

Pinole is truly in a class of its own. In 2016, the Food Network described the ancient drink as a superfood with the potential to become the next big thing. Around six years later, the drink remains, at least in the U.S., relatively obscure. But for those who would like to include cacao in their health-oriented diet, it's time to get to know this drink. 

Cacao is just one part of this drink that owes its origins to the Mexican region, per Imbibe Magazine. The drink combines blue and purple maize, or corn, that's then roasted and combined with raw cacao.  The Food Network notes that the texture of this drink is closer to oatmeal or grits than it is to a traditional cup of cocoa. It's also not as sweet as other chocolatey drinks. 

While this may not sound completely appealing, for those looking to reap all of the healthful benefits of cacao this is the perfect hot chocolate for them. The original ultra-runners, the Tarahumara, drink pinole before embarking on their legendary 100-mile runs. Even if you aren't embarking on those 100-mile journeys, pinole can still be a wonderful source of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

As CNN notes, it may come as a surprise to be served up a mug of cocoa in the tropical heat of the Philippines. But if you're ever given the opportunity to indulge in a cup of sikwate, you absolutely should. CNN credits chocolate's introduction to the Philippines to the Spanish colonial rule that lasted some 300 years. It isn't uncommon for Filipino families to have a cacao tree. Because cacao trees can be cultivated so easily there, it has allowed for a wide variety of chocolate recipes and experimentation.

There's not one way to make sikwate, but there is a general consensus: The drinking chocolate is always made from tablea, which are blocks of compressed, dried, and fermented cacao beans. This gives the drink a really rich and undeniably bold cacao flavor. As described by Eat Your World, it's as if you're drinking a cup of raw chocolate. 

From there, there are innumerable variations to make: Some dilute the tablea with milk, others with water, sometimes hot, sometimes cold. Some are sweetened with sugar or thickened with milk. Wherever you are, sikwate can take many different forms. In general, rather than being thick like Spanish hot chocolate, sikwate is whisked until it's rather foamy. Eat Your World recommends either pairing the drink with fresh mango or sweet, sticky rice cakes to have the full experience.

Caribbean chocolate tea is a beloved and long-held hot chocolate tradition (via Atlas Obscura). Despite the name, according to the St. Lucia Loop News, the drink is oatmeal-like in consistency. The chocolate drink is brewed from fermented cacao beans which have been ground and pressed into a ball- or stick-like form. These cacao balls are grated into a powder, then boiled in a water and milk mixture.

This drinking chocolate leans heavily into spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and even bay leaf can be found bringing life into this drink. Condensed (or sometimes coconut) milk is added to sweeten the pot, quite literally. Leave it to the Caribbean to elevate hot chocolate to an extremely flavorful and well-rounded drink. According to Atlas Obscura, the concoction's true secret to greatness is the cacao that's used. It's minimally processed, which gives the drink a distinct sharpness to it that other hot chocolate simply does not have. In some cases, hot chocolate can even be a meal, and cooks in St. Lucia often opt to float flour dumplings in chocolate tea and serve it for breakfast.

Chocolate and Mexico go together hand-in-hand. As noted by The Culture Trip, ancient Mesoamericans were the first to cultivate cacao, and they're who we have to thank as we drink our cups of hot chocolate today. Of course, drinking chocolate has changed a lot since it was first cultivated, but it still remains beloved in Mesoamerica and contemporary Mexico. 

Mexican hot chocolate remains extremely important to the national cuisine. It can usually be found in the form of chocolate bars that are melted down to make a uniquely grainy hot chocolate. It is still served up frothy just as it was in ancient times (via World History Encyclopedia). 

The Latin America Food Navigator ascribes a few other unique properties to Mexican hot chocolate. It notes that Mexican cacao tends to have a more floral flavor. This is a hot chocolate that simply tastes different. While originally vanilla was used to season the drink, nowadays, Mexican hot chocolate features cinnamon, which points to a direct Spanish influence. It's evident that Mexican hot chocolate exists at the crossroads of history, geography, and culture.