Capucchino

Location: Alejandro Velasco Astete airport, 1st floor
Price: s/. 6.00
Prepared: Unsweetened, milk
Atmosphere: Airline check-in area

I couldn't leave for home for the holidays without getting in one last hot chocolate! Smooth and buttery with a weak cocoa presence and a light, nutty aftertaste. Nuttiness accented with the addition of sugar. No bitterness or unpleasant flavors, surprisingly nice presentation for a to-go airport beverage (foam cap, marshmallow & dusting of cocoa powder.) Not bad at all for a kiosk cafe!

Chocolates Cusco

Location: Calle Choquechaka
Price: s/. 5.00
Prepared: Sweetened, milk
Atmosphere: Tiny hole-in-the-wall cafe, easy to miss.

Creamy, sweet, chocolatey goodness. Assertive & robust cocoa presence with delicate notes of cinnamon and nuttiness that don't compete with the cocoa flavor at all, but rather flawlessly compliment it. The sweetness is velvety and superbly balanced, the creaminess dreamy. Aftertaste a lingering chocolate sweetness. I don't know how long it took to perfect this recipe, but perfection it is.

This is it. This is the best chocolate I've ever had in my life. I could literally write an epic poem on how good this drink is, and frankly, I have to resist the temptation to. Simply put (almost to the point of understatement) this is bar-none the best chocolate in Cusco. The cafe also offers coffee, mocha and homemade chocolates, but DON'T YOU DARE set foot in this comically tiny shop without trying this hot chocolate. At many of the other places that I've had hot chocolates more than once, I've received different-tasting drinks. Probably the greatest thing about Chocolates Cusco is its consistency. I've drank the hot cocoa here countless times, and each drink, despite being made from scratch every time, tastes every bit as great as the last. Do not underestimate this cocoa. This is the Pandora's Box of chocolate. Once you taste it, no other chocolate--not Godiva, not Lindt, nothing--will ever quite stack up the same way again.

There is an etiquette to drinking this cocoa if (or WHEN) you try it:
1. You must drink it in-house, DO NOT get it to-go.
2. Sip it slowly from the spoon ONLY. Under all circumstances, resist the temptation to drink it from the cup.
3. Do NOT place or dunk the cookie-biscuits that come with the cup into the cocoa. Ladle a spoonfull of cocoa and put the cookie in the spoon.
4. When you take a sip of the cocoa from the spoon, purse your lips and take a sharp, quick breath through your mouth, getting some of the chocolate vapors into where your nasal passage meets the roof of your mouth. Swallow the liquid in your mouth while exhaling through your nose.
5. It should take you AT LEAST 15 minutes to finish the cup. If you don't have the time to savor it properly, wait another day to do so.

If savored properly, this chocolate will give you a buzz. It will change your mood, it will change your day. You will leave the cafe with the feeling that all is right with your life.

Tupananchis

Location: Plazoleta Espinar
Price: s/. 8.00
Prepared: Unsweetened, milk
Atmosphere: Upscale bar/lounge & restaurant

Rich and creamy, made with cinnamon, which lends a natural sweetness to the pure cacao. Dark and nutty notes with a strong cocoa presence. However, the chocolate flavor is just a tad shadowed by the cinammon. Adding sugar diminishes non of the flavor. Aftertaste of lingering cinnamon and raw cacao beans. Better balance: Just a little less cinnamon!

Yajuu

Location: Calle Marquez
Price: s/. 5.00
Prepared: Unsweetened, milk
Atmosphere: The Peruvian equivalent of an Orange Julius or Jamba Juice

Thick and creamy. Light cocoa flavor with notes of walnut. Aftertaste of whole milk and butter. The cocoa flavor is present, but struggles against the richness of the milk. Adding sugar accents the butteriness, but diminishes the cocoa flavor. Needs a stronger chocolate presence, tastes like nuts pan-toasted in butter. Points for the creaminess. Also served in a beer mug...nice touch (no points for that, though.)

Cafe Perla

Location: Calle San Andres
Price: s/. 5.00
Prepared: Unsweetened, Milk
Atmosphere: Relaxed, spacious cafe

Sweet and nutty, with notes of cinnamon and clove. Aftertaste a a smoother nuttiness with the lingering sweetness of the clove. Adding sugar accents the clove sharply. This drink almost tastes like it was made with the cocoa para taza, but it came unsweetened, so it couldn't have been. A better balance could come from a stronger chocolate flavor and more creaminess. The cinnamon and clove flavors were well-balanced, which is fairly uncommon. Props!