100g of really good chocolate (min 70% cocoa solids) to half a litre of whole milk - no skimmed milk! A couple of tea spoons sugar - to taste. Melt your chocolate and add a little milk. Heat the rest of the milk and add the chocolate and WHISK until it's frothy. You can add a little powdered chocolate on the top if you like.

i don't know how you could improve on raves from recipients, but jacques torres was rated #1 by these taste testers... "Best Fancypants Mix: Jacques Torres: This was like eating a melted chocolate bar, a really good dark one. "Would definitely drink a whole cup of this," agreed tasters. There's a half cup of milk per every 1/4 cup of mix (that's a whole 2-to-1 milk-to-chocolate ratio!), which contains solid chocolate nuggets mixed with the powder. It's definitely indulgent, but also very drinkable. Slightly salty to balance the sweetness." mariebelle sounds positively decadent: "Most Indulgent (and Priciest): Mariebelle Aztec Hot Chocolate: So thick, this almost reaches pudding levels. "Amazing. Like drinking liquid chocolate sauce!" You could definitely refrigerate this in a pie crust and serve it. There's a whole 2/3 cup of single-origin Colombian cacoa shards per every 1/2 cup of milk. That's more cacoa than milk! Each sip goes down slowly, painting your esophagus. It feels like it should be served over ice cream, a la hot fudge. This is a splurge�"it probably works out to a couple quarters per sip. And don't be confused by the "Aztec" part. It's not spicy, cinnamony, or spiked with any other unexpected spices." Here is a link that might be useful: jacques torres rated best by these tasters

There are three different roses named Hot Chocolate and only one of them, the 2002 Carruth floribunda, is a synonym for Hot Cocoa. There is a 1986 Simpson floribunda and a 1999 Shuurman floribunda. The Simpson rose is available from Burlington roses but the other is only available in Europe.

I checked StillTasty.com - your ultimate shelf life guide, and they indicated it has an indefinite shelf life UNopened and 1-year after opened. Vacuum-seal it in a jar (to keep it free-flowing) with a FoodSaver and the jar sealer to extend the storage life after it's opened if you don't use it very often. The components in the mixture all have a very long, and very stable, shelf-life when stored at room temperature (70°F) or colder in the world of home food storage. -Grainlady