Hot Chocolate, no really

For years and years I never even contemplated having a hot chocolate. Although i'm a huge chocolate fan, hot chocolate never was my thing. I would screw my face up at the mere mention of some pale brown powder being thrown into a mug with hot water or milk and stirred giving you this hug in a cup. Nope. That wasn't for me. Maybe those purple tins (you know the ones) in supermarkets put me off.

Last year, i don't know what came over me, but whilst browsing the shelves of the (then) newly opened Hotel Chocolat shop in Edinburgh, i happened upon what looked like gold... in a white tin. Hotel Chocolat caramel hot chocolate. I purchased a tin along with some caramel chocolate batons and other bars for the family's Christmas presents and headed home.

Months passed, along with the sell by date of March 2012, and still the tin remained in the cupboard (next to the vanilla pods tube) unopened. Three weeks ago - six months after the sell by date, I reluctantly threw out the unopened bag of hot caramel chocolate. It pained me at nearly £10 a tin! I hate waste but i also don't tend to eat out of date food (I'm sure that would have been okay though). I then bought a new refill bag - another pain, then waited.

Last week I decided that what I needed was a hug in a mug. It was one of those days. I followed the instructions on the pack to the letter and poured this (honestly disappointing) pale brown elixir into my mug, added a few mini marhsmallows on top and went to watch a good programme on the tv. First sip... Mmmm... Second sip... Mmmm-eeeuuuwww... By the third drink i was convinced hot chocolate was not my friend. We were never going to get along. I headed downstairs to make a nice cup of tea. Mmmmmm, that's better.

Hotel Chocolat caramel milk hot chocolate

Saturday saw me on a weekend wander. The usual. My usual, not yours. Anyway, I thought to myself "let's give the hot chocolate malarky one last go". Yes, of course that's the way i talk to myself, in my head. Don't you? So I (stupidly) walked into a Starbucks and ordered there caramel salted hot chocolate. It had a pretty picture.

I waited on my order then sat at a table, on my own, ready to delve into this whipped cream delight in front of me. In I went. Took some of the lush cream from the top. Yum! a mix of sweet and salty hit me right in my sweet tooth spot. Yummy, yum. This might be okay I thought to myself. Once i'd made a clearing in the overfilled mug i took a sip. Mmmm, okay. Another cream only mouthful - yum. Then another sip... Nope, I didn't like it. It was all I could do to stop myself from making the screwed up face i talked about in the first paragraph. I casually tried to get the cream out with one of those thin wooden stirrers. It nearly worked. I read my book and kept stirring until most of the cream had dispersed and merged in with the watery hot chocolate. It was kind of bitter tasting. I couldn't really taste any caramel apart from the stuff sparingly drizzled on top.

Starbucks salted caramel hot chocolate

That was it. I'm no longer going to try hot chocolate. I'll stick with a good cup of tea. It's much better on the hips too.

Well, i know i said I wouldn't try hot chocolate but... I've just wandered over to a blog I read, The Londoner, and there was the writer telling of her distaste at the same salted caramel hot chocolate as me. BUT!! she also made an attempt of her own and included a recipe. Yay, now this i might try. Her pictures look Ah-Maz-ing. Have a wee look.

For now, it's just me and my cuppa tea.

Angela x
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