How to Make Chocolate Caliente (Oaxacan Hot Chocolate)
Chocolate caliente is a delicious drink made with Mexican chocolate tablets and water or milk. It’s served hot and frothy and is much richer and more flavorful than American hot chocolate, even when made with water, the way it’s traditionally made in Oaxaca.
WHAT IS MEXICAN CHOCOLATE?
Chocolate caliente is a very common drink in Oaxaca, where I’ve enjoyed it morning, noon, and night with pan dulce or after a delicious meal. Chocolate Mexicano refers to the chocolate used to make chocolate caliente, or Mexican hot chocolate. The three areas best known for chocolate in Mexico are Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Tabasco. I’m most familiar with Oaxacan chocolate, which I’ve had the pleasure of making by hand out of minimally processed cacao, cinnamon, and sugar during my stay at La Casa de Mis Recuerdos Bed and Breakfast in Oaxaca.
Mexican chocolate is traditionally made by grinding cacao beans on a metate (stone slab). This technique gives it a grainy texture, quite different from smooth, processed chocolates. Nowadays there are chocolate shops throughout Oaxaca that grind the ingredients in an industrial molino (mill).
FUN FACT: In Oaxaca, I learned that this form of Oaxacan hot chocolate is only prepared with milk for tourists, and on rare occasion, for weddings and funerals. Otherwise in restaurants and homes, locals typically make it with water, which is just as delicious!
FUN FACT: On Day of the Dead, people leave drinks such as Mexican hot chocolate on altars in order to lure the spirits of loved ones back to the living world.
MEXICAN CHOCOLATE BRANDS TO TRY
Of course everybody who has tasted Mexican hot chocolate has most certainly heard of the brand Abuelita. I’m here to share a few lesser-known brands, which I happen to love. You can find most of them online, but I highly recommend a trip to Oaxaca where you can buy it direct from the source!
- Chocolate de la Villa Real
- Seasons of My Heart Oaxacan Chocolate
- Mayordomo Chocolate Para Mesa
- Chocolate Ibarra
- Taza Mexican Chocolate Disks
- Casa Crespo Chocolate Oaxaqueño
- La Soledad Chocolate Oaxaqueño
If you’re planning a visit to Oaxaca, be sure to check out my posts: Where to Stay in Oaxaca: Bed and Breakfasts, Hotels, and Apartments, Top 3 Oaxaca Markets Every Food Lover Should Visit, Oaxaca Markets: Tlacolula, A Feast for the Senses, Oaxaca Weather: A Comprehensive Guide for Travelers
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED
To prepare Oaxacan chocolate in drink form, I melt my chocolate tablets into hot water and then whisk the mixture vigorously using a molinillo (wooden whisk), which helps create a frothy top. All you need for this recipe is Mexican chocolate tablets (see list above) and water or milk.
HOW TO MAKE OAXACAN HOT CHOCOLATE
1. Heat water and add chocolate
- In a small saucepan, bring water (or milk) to a simmer over medium heat.
- Add chocolate and using a wooden spoon, break into smaller chunks. Stir until chocolate is completely dissolved. This process should take approximately 10 minutes.
2. Whisk chocolate
- Pour chocolate into a clay pitcher and then whisk briskly with a molinillo until mixture is smooth and frothy.
- PRO TIP: While a molinillo (wooden whisk) and olla de barro (clay pot) are the preferred kitchen utensils used to prepare hot chocolate in Mexico, a regular wire whisk and a saucepan are fine substitutes. In fact, I know people who get a frothy consistency by mixing it in a blender on a high setting.
3. Serve and enjoy
- Serve alone or alongside your favorite pan dulce, pan de manzana, easy buñuelos, lavender sugar cookies, marigold sugar cookies or cinnamon rugelach!
FUN FACT: In Oaxaca, some people believe that if a young woman makes hot chocolate that is not frothy, this is indicative of her lack of kitchen skills.
RECOMMENDED BY LOLA FOR THIS RECIPE
Handmade Mexican Molinillo
If you’re really on a journey to make chocolate caliente, you may want to invest in a molinillo. It’s beautiful to have on display in your kitchen, too! VIEW PRODUCT
LOOKING FOR MORE CHOCOLATE RECIPES?
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- Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream
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- Mexican Chocolate Protein Shake
- Easy Chocolate Haystacks with Mini Marshmallows
HOT TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CALIENTE (OAXACAN HOT CHOCOLATE)
Equipment
- Olla de barro
Ingredients
- 24 ounces water or milk for the Americanized version
- 4 ounces Mexican chocolate
Instructions
- Heat water and add chocolate. In a small saucepan, bring water or milk to a simmer over medium heat. Add chocolate and using a wooden spoon, break into smaller chunks. Stir until chocolate is completely dissolved. This process should take approximately 10 minutes.
- Whisk chocolate. Pour chocolate into a clay pitcher and then whisk briskly with a molinillo until mixture is smooth and frothy.PRO TIP: While a molinillo (wooden whisk) and olla de barro (clay pot) are the preferred kitchen utensils used to prepare hot chocolate in Mexico, a regular wire whisk and a saucepan are fine substitutes. In fact, I know people who get a frothy consistency by mixing it in a blender on a high setting.
- Serve and enjoy. Serve alone or alongside your favorite pan dulce!
A Note from Lola
Nutrition
This recipe originally published on November 2, 2015 and updated with more clear instructions and images on November 17, 2024.
Lola’s Cocina is a small business that earns various revenue streams. This includes sponsored posts and affiliate commissions from linked products, which I use and love. This commission is an agreement between Lola’s Cocina and retailers, with no extra cost to readers. This income helps sustains the site.
Lola Wiarco Dweck
Lola is a Mexican-American recipe developer, writer, and cooking instructor who loves sharing her culture with the world. Growing up in California and spending summers in Mexico, Lola celebrates her family’s Mexican recipes and vibrant culture through Lola’s Cocina.
Wow! I had no idea that in Oaxaca it is only prepared with milk on special occasions! It looks amazing in that pretty little talavera mug.
I never would’ve thought of making it with water, but I bet the flavors might come through even more than with milk. But I also like to eat the tablets just like they are so maybe I’m not the best judge. 🙂 Yum!!
As long as you add enough chocolate, it’s still very rich. I always asked for mine with water in order to feel like a local.:)
This recipe is so much better than the instant hot chocolate packs, even abuelita. Mine didn’t come out too frothy… I guess i need to work on my kitchen skills!
I agree! The flavor is so much richer. I also need to work on my frothing skills.
I love the recipes
So happy to hear!
Thanks so much for sharing an authentic Oaxacan hot chocolate recipe! So many recipes I’ve seen cater to tourists / Americans and only make it with milk, but everywhere I’ve tasted it in Oaxaca, it’s made with water, which is so rich and delicious even though it’s dairy-free.
This article is incredibly informative and engaging! I love the detailed recipe and the cultural insights about Mexican hot chocolate. The suggestions for brands and Oaxaca travel are just the push I needed to try making this traditional drink. Great job, Lola!