Mindo hot chocolate at Zingerman's Next Door listed as among best in country

Posted on Thu, Nov 29, 2012 : 1 p.m.

Mindo hot chocolate at Zingerman's Next Door listed as among best in country

By Jessica Webster

Zingerman's Next Door made Food & Wine's list of the best hot chocolates in the U.S.

Jessica Webster | AnnArbor.com

My 10-year-old takes after his mom when it comes to food—he loves to discover new foods with me, and is always searching for "the best" food in each category. Now that the weather has gotten colder, we've embarked on a quest to find the best hot chocolate in Ann Arbor. It turns out that Food & Wine magazine has been working on a similar quest, and Ann Arbor has made the cut.

In their list of 25 of the best hot chocolates in the country, Food & Wine has included the Mindo Hot Chocolate from Zingerman's Next Door. The drink, which sells for $3.50, is made from Ecuadorian cocoa powder from Dexter's Mindo Chocolate Makers, sugar, and milk from Calder Dairy in Carleton. The drink is then topped either with whipped cream or a housemade marshmallow (offered in chocolate or vanilla).

Zingerman's Next Door takes hot chocolate pretty seriously. The Mindo Hot Cocoa is just one of five different drinking chocolates on the menu. Other offerings include a Mayan hot cocoa made with chipotle and ancho chiles, a cinnamon spiced Oaxacan chocolate, steamed with water, and a Spanish drinking cocoa so thick, it requires a spoon.

Fans of the Mindo hot cocoa can make the drink at home. The cocoa powder is available for purchase in 8-ounce jars at Zingerman's and other area retailers.

Jessica Webster leads the Food & Grocery section for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at JessicaWebster@annarbor.com. You also can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.

Comments

quetzalcoatl

Sat, Dec 1, 2012 : 10:25 p.m.

It's really a tragedy for American gourmands that Ecuador doesn't ship the free-range organic Double Fuerte variant to the US. It contains more than twice as much distilled coca powder, making it ideal for Finals Week cramming sessions and high-speed non-stop drives to Las Vegas in rental cars with the full insurance option checked.

Thu, Nov 29, 2012 : 10:34 p.m.

That's cool. When we were in Ecuador, we went to see the cloud forest and stumbled on Mindo Chocolates and the Ann Arbor connection by chance. I'm glad to see them doing well.

An Arborigine

Thu, Nov 29, 2012 : 9:24 p.m.

And the list hoedown continues!

PWJT8D

Thu, Nov 29, 2012 : 8:50 p.m.

I have not tried this hot chocolate from Zingermans however I will make a point to have a cup. My choice hot chocolate is a hazlenut hot chocolate from Great Lakes Chocolate & Coffee.

Honest Abe

Thu, Nov 29, 2012 : 8:19 p.m.

Zingermans?...Sorry, I'm just not up for having to refinance my home to buy a sandwich and hot chocolate from this place.

Honest Abe

Thu, Nov 29, 2012 : 11:04 p.m.

Sigdiamond- I was making a tongue in cheek jab at Zingerman's reputation for having high priced food and drink. I am just going to presume your question to me as 'rhetorical'. Now, you do know what that means......RIGHT?!

sigdiamond

Thu, Nov 29, 2012 : 9:46 p.m.

You'd have to refinance your home to come up with $15?

kmgeb2000

Thu, Nov 29, 2012 : 7:38 p.m.

No offence to Zingerman's, Mindo, or the other 24, but Grocer's Daughter Chocolates in Empire, MI is the BEST!

Jessica Webster

Thu, Nov 29, 2012 : 7:44 p.m.

Now I'm jonesing for a Sleeping Bear Dunes trek, kmgeb2000. Do you know what the secret to their hot chocolate is?

Jessica Webster

Thu, Nov 29, 2012 : 7:30 p.m.

Thecompound - The hot chocolate I photographed above is actually from Zingerman's Coffee, out on their south campus (near the airport.) They make their hot chocolate from Callebaut chocolate drops and steamed milk. My son thinks it's one of the best hot chocolates in town. I called over to the folks at Zingerman's Roadhouse, and they tell me that their hot chocolate is made from Askinosie chocolate powder that they then turn into a syrup.

Jessica Webster

Fri, Nov 30, 2012 : 3:21 p.m.

And just to be clear - the award-winning hot chocolate is the Mindo hot chocolate at Zingerman's Next Door, made from a single-origin Ecuadorian cocoa, pressed right here in Dexter. If you're curious about Mindo and how they create this amazing chocolate, check out this article written by Angela Smith last month: http://www.annarbor.com/business-review/the-sweetest-of-treats-mindo-chocolate-celebrates-3rd-anniversary-amidst-halloween/

thecompound

Thu, Nov 29, 2012 : 7:44 p.m.

Thanks! Will definitely try the Callebaut one.

thecompound

Thu, Nov 29, 2012 : 7:15 p.m.

Is it just at the Next Door or does the Roadhouse serve it? Looks really tasty.