Mr. Big Food is obviously quoting from an old cookbook here, but I don’t know the source. The specialty Mexican chocolate is available at Kroger and that big store in the sky: Nestle® Abuelita Mexican Hot Chocolate Tablets.

“For authentic Mexican flavor, purchase cakes of Mexican chocolate in a specialty grocery store. These are presweetened chocolate, flavored with cinnamon and sometimes, ground almonds. These cakes are generally marked off to indicate how much to use with 1 cup of warm milk for a single serving of hot chocolate. (On the other hand, American cocoa can be used, too. Just follow package directions for the amounts of sugar and milk and cooking method. Then add a bit of cinnamon and a drop or two of almond extract.)”

MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE II

Mexican chocolate
Warm milk

Beat well with an egg beater to achieve a foamy top. “Mexicans use a wooden gadget which looks somewhat like a darning ball with a long handle, with loose wooden rings around the ball section. This “molinello” is operated by placing the ball end in the chocolate and spinning the handle back and forth between the palms of the hands.”