Some friends and I meet once a fortnight to talk and linger over cups of hot chocolate – we call this gathering HotChA, our Hot Chocolate Appreciation nights. We’ve had some really wonderful cups of hot chocolate this winter and last winter, and more than a few engaging and energetic conversations. Hot chocolate and warm company have really brightened my winter nights.

As the winter winds to a close (it’s still plenty cold in New York, despite today being the first official day of spring), we’ve started planning a HotChA at home event, with homemade marshmallows, homemade hot chocolate, and special guest appearances from hot chocolates around the world. Here are the current fruit of my Internet research:

• Valor Chocolate a la Taza — Thick Spanish (from Spain) hot chocolate, suitable for dipping churros. [via 101cookbooks]
• Mayordomo — Oaxacan hot chocolate. Apparently the best commonly available Mexican hot chocolate tablets. Comes in three flavors: original, cinnamon, and almond. [via Chowhound]
• Susan Trilling’s Oaxacan Hot Chocolate — A small-batch manufacturer of Oaxacan drinking chocolate. Many egullet and chowhound folk swear by it.
• dark spanish drinking chocolate from enrico rovira — Found this one just by poking around the Zingerman’s web site. Looks really intriguing, but a little pricey for an unproved quantity.
• Filipino Tsokolate — Sounds similar to Mexican hot chocolate, even with the wooden aerator and all. I can’t seem to find any stores online that sell Tsokolate tableas, but there are apparently a couple of Filipino grocery stores in Jackson Heights. I will do some on-the-street research!

As a special bonus, I also found antique chocolate truffles on Zingerman’s. Claims to have large crunchy crystals of sugar in the truffles, and I’m always all over the large crunchy crystals. I love the textural difference.