There is a specific moment in late spring when you still want chocolate - you always want chocolate - but the idea of something hot feels like a betrayal of the season. The milk pan stays in the cupboard. The mug feels wrong.
This is the drink for that moment.
Three ingredients. Five minutes. No agenda.
A note on the chocolate
We use Harth. It is a drinking chocolate made in Somerset with unalkalised cocoa, which means the flavour is deeper, more natural, nothing stripped away. It dissolves beautifully into hot water and holds its richness even over ice. You do not need to add sugar. You do not need to add anything. Harth already has the balance built in.
You will find it at Mel Living, in store in Porto and online.
What you need
2 tablespoons of Harth drinking chocolate
80ml of boiling water
1 cup of oat milk (or your favourite milk)
A generous handful of ice
What you do
Start with the chocolate.
Add the Harth to a cup or mug and pour over the boiling water. Whisk until completely smooth and glossy. This is the part that makes everything else worth it. Harth dissolves beautifully if the water is hot enough, and the result should look like something you would order at a very good café.
Fill a large glass generously with ice. Pour the hot chocolate mixture straight over it. It will hiss a little. That is the sound of summer.
Pour in the oat milk and watch it cloud and swirl through the chocolate. Give it one gentle stir. Taste it. Adjust nothing or adjust everything. This is your drink.
The last step
Take it somewhere nice. A windowsill, a shaded table outside, a patch of afternoon light on the kitchen floor. Drink it slowly. There is no version of this recipe that should be rushed.
Harth drinking chocolate is available at Mel Living, Porto, and online. Free shipping on orders over 30€.