There is nothing more delicious than a hot cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter night or right after dinner. It's a Mexican tradition, to drink hot chocolate and dip in your favorite Mexican sweet bread for breakfast. This delicious chocolate beverage originates from Mexico; it's believed to have been created by the Mayans and was later adopted by the ancient Aztecs who made this cocoa beverage an essential part of their culture. The Aztec people made a variety of chocolate drinks that were combined with nuts, seeds, honey, anise, vanilla and spices. It was a beverage for the wealthy and was also used in rituals by priests. Chocolate was so important it was used as both currency and food.

The Aztecs later introduced their chocolate beverages to the Spanish colonizers in 1519 shortly after arriving at Tenochtitlan. Being granted an audience with Moctezuma at his breakfast table, Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors found the Aztec ruler sipping an exotic drink by the name of xoctatl (which means bitter water). Xocatl was made from ground cacao beans boiled in water, tropical spices, flavored with vanilla and chilled with tiny pieces of snow from the close-by Mountain tops, the Spanish became fascinated with the pungent beverage, which they reported to be of a very exciting nature.

Considered as an invigorating drink Xocatl was consumed only by royalty. There was many ways to make xocoatl, ancient recipes called for various spices and varieties of cacao, and all had to be beaten until creating a thick, almost solid froth formed on the top. The x cara where the xocoatl was served consisted of an elaborate gold goblet set on a base covered with a jaguar skin, along with a tortoise shell spoon to eat the thick foam.

Among the New World treasures that Cortez sent back to his sovereign, Carlos V, were the cacao beans and other exotic tropical ingredients that were used to make the delicious xocoatl drink. The Spanish loved the Aztec beverage, especially when they discovered that it tasted delicious after adding sugar to it, making it more delectable. They named the drink chocolate (Choh-co-la-teh) and just like with the Aztecs it became the drink of royalty in Spain.

The most traditional uses for chocolate today are hot beverages such as Champurrado, Atole and Hot Chocolate. Atole and Champurrado are typically served with tamales on Holidays like Christmas and New Years. Champurrado can also be served as a dessert and like hot chocolate can also be served and consumed hot with churros or pan dulce (sweet bread). These drinks get their signature foamy texture with a wooden whisk called a Molinillo, which is held between the palms of your hands, it is moved back and forth in the chocolate mixture until the chocolate its frothy and foamy.

MexGrocer.com is proud to give you access to the best brands of hot chocolate in Mexico so you can bring the authentic taste of chocolate into your own home. Go ahead and stir up a delicious cup of hot chocolate with Abuelita Marqueta's Mexican chocolate from Nestle. Abuelita is a rich chocolate tablet laced with cinnamon and covered in coarse sugar that dissolves with milk, it's used to prepare a succulent hot chocolate or as an ingredient for authentic Mexican chocolate recipes. For more then 60 yrs Abuelita has been a tradition passed down through generations and now you can make it a tradition in your home and table too. Chocolate Abuelita Marqueta comes in different presentations for your convenience. Enjoy a delicious cup of Abuelita Mexican Style hot chocolate instantly, anytime, anywhere whenever you have the craving. All you have to do is add hot milk or water to start enjoying the same traditional taste of authentic Abuelita Mexican hot chocolate but now in a convenient instant form to enjoy at work or at home. But hot its not the only way to enjoy Abuelita Marquetas chocolate, you can also enjoy it with cold milk for breakfast with Abuelita Granulated Chocolate Drink Mix. It has the same great taste, it's easy to prepare, has no cholesterol and comes in a reseal-able pouch. Nestle Abuelita granulated chocolate mix is a delicious way to help meet your daily calcium requirement. Other Mexican brands of hot chocolate in tablet, granulated or instant hot chocolate form you should also try are Don Gustavo and Chocolate Ibarra.

Start your day and your children's day with a delicious and cold chocolate drink with Milo Chocolate by Nestle, Carlos V Chocolate and NesQuik Chocolate Drink Mix. Fortified with vitamins, proteins, calcium and a delicious chocolaty flavor children love and you will love when you try them.

For your next posada accompany your tamales, bunuelos or churros with a hot cup of Champurrado by Juanitas a thick hot chocolate beverage made with ground corn, or masa. It is prepared with milk or water, sweetened with refined sugar or piloncillo (semi-processed brown sugar sold in cones) and flavored with chocolate and cinnamon; or Maizena chocolate mix atole to make a rich, invigorating, hot delicious flavored drink with corn syrup and chocolate.