“A chocolate in the mouth is better than two on a plate.”
Drum roll please… and the winner is… Choco la, located at the PVR Priya Cinema Complex in Vasant Vihar, New Delhi.
Actually, this may be the only place in all of India that serves the kind of hot chocolate I am talking about – single origin hot chocolate made from cacao sourced from different parts of the world. This is not your Nestles Quick, Bournvita, Hershey’s or any other mix-heaping-teaspoons-with-milk-and-stir drinks that you serve to kids. Nor is it like the fancier cocoa powders you get from choclatiers (e.g. Valrhona or Ghirardelli) in Europe or the United States. This is the hot chocolate that makes Paris a food lover’s mecca; not hot cocoa.
The “Tanzania” served at Choco la is just under par with the Chocolat Africain served at Angelina’s in Paris. Just under par because Angelina’s hot chocolate is thicker (and served with a pitcher of water because you need it to chase down the chocolate) than the hot chocolate served at Choco la. These hot chocolates are so thick that you need a spoon to get the last drollops. The “Tanzania” is the most “bitter”, dark hot chocolate of the three served at Choco la, with a cocoa content of 73%. The Tanzania “combines subtle fruitiness with a richly varied assortment of aromas and a remarkably fine hint of vanilla.” The sweetest hot chocolate served is the Papua, “a milk chocolate with a varied palette of lemon, caramel, walnut, rounded off with a hint of Tahitian vanilla”, and the other is the Sao Thome (Indian spelling here), a dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70%. Choco la’s chocolate is sourced from Barry Callebaut of Belgium.
Choco la also sells regular hot chocolates (Italian, Viennese, Spicy Chocolate, Hazelnut, Agasajo*), handmade truffles and chocolates, as well as ice cream, cakes, baguettes, and other baked goods. Choco la also serves some amazing food: all-day breakfast (amazing eggs benedict – Anupa – this one’s for you), soups, salads, sandwiches, “nibbles”, “small bites” and “bigger bites”, including pastas and a veg burger with potato wedges. (Highly recommend the potato wedges!)
If anyone knows of any other places in India where you can get single origin hot chocolate, please let me know. I’d be only too happy to conduct a taste test.
* A special mention for the Agasajo-style hot chocolate based on a Spanish recipe – dark chocolate with cinnamon, rosewater and saffron.
“Save Earth. It’s the only planet with chocolate.”
Essere 
sadly, i’m not in india. is it a cafe specially selling chocolate products? sounds heavenly. and i like the chocolatey quote at the end, so funny yet true!
Hi Sulz,
Yes, this is a cafe dedicated to chocolate, hence the name, Choco la. And sadly, I am no longer in South Delhi, so am not able to indulge myself every day!
Thanks for recommending I can’t wait to check it out! 🙂
I am looking for a dark chocolate for baking and cooking in either 1 kg bars or 1/2 kg bars. Do you know where I can get a product like this? I live in Goa, India.
Thank you for your response.
Dr. Avi Almeida
Hey man,
Great article! I have been actively hunting for Valrhona Chocolate in Bombay, but haven’t had any luck so far. Also the so called hot chocolates I’ve had here are best left unordered (even most of the 5 star hotels do a really bad job of the hot chocolate), save a few! Restaurants like Moshe’s, Brio are using molten chocolate for a cup of Hot Theo(and the Moshe’s one does taste good), so I do see a revolution beginning here. Also if I ever am in Delhi soon I definitely will make a trip to Chocola (and a whole load of restaurants too long to mention here).
Hi Abhilash,
Not sure about Valrhona, but you can get Ritter Sport (I recommend the dark chocolate with marzipan) at Le Marche, across the lane from Choco La in New Delhi. Punjabi by Nature is a good restaurant in the same complex. But speaking of food, you can’t beat Bombay!
Yoo-Mi
Hi.
Could you pls let me know whre can i get this brand of Valrhona Chocolate in Mumbai (India)