[1] Canisters of Milkboy Swiss Chocolate Drink (photos #1 and #3 © Milkboy).

[2] A seasonal spin (photo © Williams Sonoma).

[3] Milkboy is one of our favorite chocolate bar brands.

Today’s product is a premium cocoa powder mix. There’s a difference between cocoa and hot chocolate: The former is made from cocoa powder and the latter from bits of ground chocolate bars. Here are the details.

Both create cups of sippable chocolate, and there are two occasions to celebrate:

 
With time still left to buy holiday gifts, we’re happy to announce that one of our favorite brands of Swiss chocolate bars, MilkBoy, has introduced Milkboy Swiss Chocolate Drink.

Now, is that cocoa or hot chocolate? Easy: It’s made with cocoa powder, so it’s cocoa. It’s also delicious, and a higher-quality, velvety cocoa drink than most other mixes offer.

The mix is sweetened with sugar. You add your milk of choice: hot, for a cup of hot chocolate, or cold, for chocolate milk.

We tried it with whole milk, 2%, and oat milk. All were wonderful, with a bit of an edge to the whole milk.

The drink mix is gluten-free, GMO-free, soy-free, vegan, and certified kosher by Triangle K (DE).

The company is also dedicated to sustainable farming, using only Rainforest Alliance-certified sustainably farmed cocoa beans in our artisan chocolate products.

While you’re at it, treat yourself to some chocolate bars. For the best selection, head to the Milkboy website.

 
The brand is named for young herders who accompany Swiss milk cows on their summer journeys to the high Alpine meadows, where they feed on the finest grass and produce the finest milk.

Alpine pastures have hundreds of different grasses and herbs for the cows to graze upon, compared with only a few dozen types down in the valley.

Some 270,000 cows are marched from their valley farms to mountain meadows at the start of every summer and come back down again in early autumn [source]. 

That’s the udder truth.

For the Chocolate Drink, head to Amazon.

You can also find the chocolate bars there, good for stocking stuffers. There are also both milk chocolate and dark chocolate giftable variety pack boxes.

Note to Santa and Hanukah Harry: We would gladly receive any and all.
 
 
COCOA TRIVIA 

Cocoa is a misspelling of the word cacao, which appeared on a ship’s manifest in the 18th century. The error led to replacing the original word with the erroneous one.

Cacao “beans” are the seeds from the pod, or fruit, of the Theobroma cacao tree. At the center of the bean is the nib, from which chocolate is made.

Cocoa powder is produced from the cocoa bean particles left over when the cocoa butter is extracted.
 
 
MORE TO KNOW 
 
> The history of cocoa.

> The difference between natural and Dutched cocoa powder.

> 25 great cocoa and hot chocolate tricks.

> For the holidays: a crushed candy cane rim for your cocoa.

> The health benefits of cocoa.