I love Valencia. There is just something so warm and inviting about this city. It is easy; easy to get around, easy to talk to people, easy to eat good food, easy to find good chocolate. I don’t know what it would actually be like to live there but I’m willing to give it a try. Now I just need to convince my partner…

Hidden in a maze of narrow pedestrian laneways is my favourite, Horchateria de Santa Catalina. This is where you come to enjoy a typical Valencian drink called a Horchata. A horchata is made by with locally grown tiger nut. The nuts are left to soak in cold water for 12 hours then washed numerous times until the water runs clear before being crushed and mixed with water and cinnamon. Sugar is added just before serving and the milky liquid is served only cold. This is accompanied by fartons (fartons are to horchata what churros are to hot chocolate), a kind of sweet sponge cake made of flour, water, sugar, oil, yeast and eggs. We also tried their hot chocolate and churros which is also delicious.

The walls of the Horchateria are covered with beautiful ceramics depicting historic scenes of everyday life in Valencia. This neighbourhood used to be home to ceramic factories, inherited from the previous Arab settlements. These ceramics gained fame across Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries. This art has seen a resurgence with the creation of the Manises School of Ceramics in 1914 and a Municipal Museum of Ceramics inaugurated in 1969.

Horchateria Santa Catalina, Plaza Santa Catalina 6, open everyday from 8:15 to 21:30.

The post A Hot Chocolate and Horchata at Santa Catalina, Valencia, Spain appeared first on Ultimate Hot Chocolate.

Chocolateria Artesano Xoco & Vero was founded by a family that has been making chocolate since 1823. They are direct descendants of chocolate family Torrent-Valencia and continue to make their chocolate following the formulas and techniques of their ancestors. Their specialty is to make bollos or bollet which are cylindrical chocolates wrapped in paper which are native to Valencia. The recipe is based on the first recipes of modern chocolate here in Spain and include cane sugar, cocoa paste, rice flour and other flavourings. The chocolate is not refined so you notice the sugar crystals on your palate. For 2 euros you can get a small cup of their chocolate a la taza artisano either plain or flavoured including cinnamon, spicy, vanilla, cardamon or ginger. You can also add whip cream and/or liquor to this if you like.

Xoco & Vero is located at 38 Calle de los derechos in central Valencia.

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