The packet exists because someone decided this was too much trouble. It isn’t.

Ingredients

For two mugs:

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 3 oz dark chocolate, chopped (or a handful of chips)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar, maybe less
  • Pinch of salt

Method

Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium. Watch it. Don’t let it boil.

When it steams and small bubbles form around the edges, take it off the heat. Add the chocolate. Wait a minute. Whisk until smooth.

Add sugar to taste. The chocolate might be sweet enough on its own. Add the salt regardless—it makes the chocolate taste more like chocolate.

Pour into mugs. Drink while it’s hot.

Variations

A splash of vanilla extract. Half a teaspoon, no more.

A tiny pinch of cayenne or cinnamon. Tiny.

Coffee instead of half the milk. Now it’s a mocha.

Whipped cream on top, if you’re that person.

The chocolate

Use what you have. Baking chocolate, a chopped-up chocolate bar, chocolate chips from the pantry. Darker is better—the milk adds sweetness.

The ingredient list should say cocoa butter, not vegetable oil. That’s the only rule.

Why this instead

The packet is fine. I’ve made it. You add water, you stir, you drink something warm.

But it tastes like what it is: powder that got wet.

This tastes like milk and chocolate. It takes four extra minutes and one extra dish. The person drinking it can tell the difference.

My neighbor’s kid asked what the secret was. There’s no secret. It’s just chocolate in hot milk. The secret is that you did it.