Joanne Harris
Author of Chocolat and The Lollipop Shoes
Chez Angelina in Paris is a venerable and rather splendid Viennese cafe where the chocolate is served in little pots in an atmosphere that seems barely changed since the beginning of the last century. Angelina's hot chocolate is not for the faint-hearted; it's dark, intense and gorgeous and, with a little whipped cream and cinnamon, makes for the best and most authentic energy breakfast in Paris.
• 226 Rue de Rivoli; +33 1 4260 8200
Angus Thirlwell
Head and co-founder of Hotel Chocolat
The best hot chocolate I have ever had is at Mrs Smith's house in the village of Montete in St Lucia. The hot chocolate there is the real thing - made from local, pure unsweetened cocoa sticks. In the West Indies, this way of drinking chocolate is known as cocoa tea, which I first experienced at Mrs Smith's house years ago. A local St Lucian woman, Mrs Smith learnt to roll cocoa sticks from her mother and, luckily for me, has been rolling them ever since!
• Visit by appointment, contact Hotel du Chocolat, 08444 937590
Micah Carr-Hill
Head of taste, Green & Blacks
Good hot chocolate is easy to make, but most of the stuff I've been served in cafes across Europe has been somewhat underwhelming, probably due to lack of actual chocolate and the abundant use of thickening agents. The hot chocolate that stands out for me is made by L'Artisan du Chocolat (in Borough Market or 89 Sloane Street in London). They make theirs simply from good dark chocolate, milk and cream, and infuse it with handfuls of de-seeded but still flavourful vanilla pods. The result is just what good hot chocolate should be: like pouring an exceptional bar of chocolate down your throat.
• artisanduchocolat.com
Annabelle Thorpe
Travel writer
In the winter months I tend to drink hot chocolate wherever I go, but I've never had one like a recent mugful at the Rogner Bad Blumau spa, near Graz, in Austria. You are served a glass of hot, frothy milk, with a 'Zotter' chocolate bar on the side. There are several flavours to choose from: chilli, vanilla and rum among them. Following the instructions on the wrapper, you steep the bar in the milk for a minute, then stir everything gently before leaving it for another two minutes. Then you give it a good strong stir, scraping off all the melty chocolate from the glass, and drink. Heavenly, particularly if you drink it without thinking about your waistline.
• blumau.com
Amber Dalton
Restaurant editor, Waitrose Food Illustrated
Absolutely the best hot chocolate I've ever had was at the Chocolaterie Café in Tallinn. It does amazing flavour combinations such as chilli and cinnamon, or even Gorgonzola and sea salt (I know it sounds disgusting but it really isn't). It's a sweet little place off a cobbled courtyard in the Old Town and looks like your granny decorated it, but in a good way.
• Vene 6; +372 641 8061
