Versus: Putting the Heat in Hot Chocolate
The season of apocalyptic darkness and perpetual dampness has settled upon Seattle, driving all sane people indoors and under blankets. Look out the window. It is indisputably the season for hot chocolate, seemingly the only beverage that can loosen the vise-like death grip that winter's frigid, wet hand has around the throat and heart. The range of hot chocolate drinks out there goes well beyond the sweet, including a few options laced with pepper and chiles to add an extra bit of heat. This week, Versus samples spicy hot chocolate from two spots, Mt. Baker's Sweet & Savory and Queen Anne's Chocolopolis. 
Sweet & Savory's chocolate chaud
Sweet & Savory's menu lists the standard Hot Chocolate, but you'll want to look one line below that and order up the "Homemade French Hot Chocolate" ($3.10). Then have a seat at the bar and watch and savor the process behind the major hot cocoa upgrade you've just ordered: the barista will take a large tupperware filled with what looks like chocolate mousse out of the fridge, draw a big spoonful of it out, then place it in a tiny saucepan and heat it slowly and gently on the gas stovetop. It's then poured into a demitasse and served with a tiny ramekin of fresh whipped cream. Sweet & Savory's chocolate chaud is decidedly decadent: ultra-viscous, semi-sweet chocolate so thick it glides slowly over your tongue and down your throat, and leaves you quite full after such a small portion. It's intensely rich and almost smotheringly too much, but the pinch of potent chili (and be prepared for that chili, as it's not listed on menu and there's no tell-tale spicy fragrance) that's in there keeps your taste buds lively and your throat wide awake.
The "spicy dark drinking chocolate" ($4.11) at Chocolopolis is a little more familiar looking than the Sweet & Savory's French beverage, but just because it's got more liquid in it doesn't mean it packs any less of a dense, flavorful punch. The formula for Chocolopolis' aptly-titled "drinking chocolates" is four tablespoons of semi-sweet chocolate (the chunks of which are carefully spooned out to order) plus four ounces of whole milk. The result? A super creamy, super smooth drink that's rich, bittersweet, and very spicy. The peppery flavor here is noticeably complex -- take it on the tip of your tongue for a wake up call, take it on the back of the tongue and let the heat gently fill up your whole mouth. The spice here comes not from chiles or the chocolate, but from the milk: Chocolopolis infuses their milk with three kinds of peppercorns. 
Verdict: This is a hard one to call, as each spicy hot chocolate has its own distinct texture and the experience of drinking them is totally different. But judging on spiciness and flavor, the peppery depth of Chocolopolis' drinking chocolate makes Sweet & Savory's seem rather one note. Chocolopolis for the win.
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