If you love hot chocolate this one is for you
I LOVE hot chocolate. As a non-coffee drinker, hot chocolate gives me that special taste as opposed to just drinking tea which, no matter how much you drink, it just never has that decadent feel about it.
When I am travelling, I usually have one a day, so I’ve become quite the connoisseur. There have been times when I’ve had some very average ones. Usually because the type of chocolate powder or syrup is less than tasty. Other times because they are stone cold.
I am now forever stuck in the habit of having to ask for my hot chocolates “extra hot” so that I can be sure that by the time they get to me, it’s still drinkable as a hot chocolate. If I wanted a cold one I would ask for an iced chocolate, wouldn’t I ? Fortunately I don’t need to worry about that in Europe as they seem to get it.
Hot chocolates / chocolate chaud / cioccolata calda……whatever the name, where-ever the country, they can vary widely in the taste and their presentation, but always, always should taste of wonderful chocolate.
And so it happened, that I uncovered this delightful cafe in the heart of Luxembourg City that instantly called out to me to sit down and try their specialty.
The Chocolate House does hot chocolate with a twist. Located directly opposite the Palace of Grand Dukes, offers a range of food, beverages, cakes, chocolates and gifts. It also offers a casual place to take a break from walking the city and provides a prime view of the Palace.
There is ample seating provided outside (complete with sheepskin rugs for when the chill arrives) and also on the second level inside.
Chocolate galore
Inside, the store is filled with an enormous range of gifts, cakes and chocolates, most with a chocolate theme of course.
Make your own hot chocolate
You have to make your own? Say what? don’t you come to a cafe to have someone make it for you? Why wouldn’t I do this myself at home? Well, the great thing is, you can do both.
For now though, I wanted the special experience of choosing my hot chocolate from one of the largest choices of flavour I have ever seen.
Along the wall are chocolate spoons of every colour and flavour imaginable. There are the usual suspects of milk, dark and white. But I didn’t come here to have something plain.
Not when I can choose from liquer chocolates with their own little piping tubes of your favourite drop (eg cointreau, brandy, grappa, vodka). Then there are peppermint flavours, orange flavours, hazelnut, chilli and even wasabi.
And to make sure that those with dietary issues don’t completely miss out, there are soy and lactose free options.
A quick discussion with one of the great people who work there and our choice was soon made. The most popular flavour at the moment is Caramel Bourbon Vanilla. Sounded pretty good to us. We took two of the spoons off the wall, ordered our cups of hot milk, and then went and sat outside in the sunshine.
As luck would have it today, we also got to see a bit of activity going on in the Palace. The palace is used not only by the Grand Duke, but also visiting foreign heads of state. Today, there was obviously someone important leaving the premises as evidenced by the police escort that lead the car out from the palace.
Soon enough, our cups of hot milk were delivered to our table, ready for the ceremony of making our own hot chocolate with the spoons.
TIP – the milk must be extremely hot when it arrives. This is so that it will melt the chocolate quickly, and then still be hot enough to drink once it has done so.
And, because they were just so darn good, we couldn’t leave without buying some takeaways.
The Chocolate House is open 7 days a week.
Monday – Friday – 8am – 8pm
Saturday – 9am – 8pm
Sunday – 10am – 8pm
20 rue du Marché aux Herbes, Luxembourg
CHOCOLATE FAN? WHY NOT PIN THIS TO YOUR PINTEREST TRAVEL BOARDS FOR LATER REFERENCE.
Oh my, those cakes look to die for. As for beverages, I’ve joked among friends that I might end up one of those old ladies who likes her brandy. Now due to this post I have learned that I can have that brandy as an option in a hot chocolate when visiting such a place in Luxembourg. Awesome! :-)
I know it was so hard to choose, but this was their most popular, so I succummbed to the populist vote and I wasn’t disappointed. I bought more to bring home with me though. Keeping them for a special breakfast occasion.
I’m a massive chocolate fan as well! Oh my, that looks like a pure heaven! I can’t believe all the different flavors of chocolate. I wouldn’t even have known what to pick! I guess that it would have been impossible to do all of them.. Hm.
It was awesome all right. Are you serious…a chocolatier. What an amazing job that must have been. I’m not sure about their makeup, but it did take a bit of stirring, but not that much really. It just seemed to incorporate really well and it didn’t keep needing to be re-stirred either. Yum !
Caramel bourbon hot chocolate sounds right up my alley! As a former chocolatier, I’m pretty curious about how those spoons are made so they melt and incorporate into the milk properly.
Ha ha! I don’t just think it’s the hot chocolate that I need to worry about. You know how it goes though….always on the move when travelling. It helps to burn it all off.
How fun and delicious. My question is how you stay slim after indulging in chocolate so often?! Wish I had your metabolism.
Those spoons sure do sound intriguing.