Notes from Ruth Alegria: Mexican chocolate is composed of bitter chocolate, sugar, cinnamon (soft bark) and almonds. Well-known brands available in the United States are Ibarra and Abuelita.

In some places like Oaxaca the chocolate is sold as an artisanal product. This means you walk into a molino (mill) where they grind the cocoa beans together with your favorite ingredients in the ratio you specify. The mix emerges still hot from the grinding and is a super sensory shock if you have never tasted hot ground cocoa.

Mail Order for Mexican Ingredients, http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/gourmetguide/source_mexican.html

• 4 cups water or milk
• 240 grams of Mexican-style chocolate, crumbled (a meat mallet works well)

Heat water or milk. Add crumbled chocolate and stir vigorously with a molinillo until the chocolate melts and the mixture becomes foamy. Remove from the heat and serve hot.

A molinillo is a wooden beater with a round grooved end beneath several loose rings.