Chocolate Santafereño (Hot Chocolate with Cheese)
Bogotá's famous hot chocolate: spiced Colombian chocolate whisked into frothy milk with a traditional molinillo, served with cubes of fresh cheese that you drop into the cup to melt, plus almojábanas or buttered bread on the side.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Heat the milk
In a tall pot (like a , if you have one), heat the milk with the cinnamon stick and cloves over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until steaming but not boiling.
- 1 litre milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
✅ Done when: milk is steaming, with small bubbles at the edge, but not boiling
Melt the chocolate
Break the chocolate into the hot milk and add or sugar if needed. Stir until melted, then raise the heat to medium-high so it rises up the pot, lower to low for about 1 minute, then raise again; repeat this 2-3 times over about 5 minutes to deepen the flavor.
- 125g chocolate
- 1–2 tbsp or sugar
✅ Done when: chocolate is fully melted and the mixture has risen and been stirred down 2-3 times
Make it foamy
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Serve with cheese
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Heat the milk
In a tall pot (like a , if you have one), heat the milk with the cinnamon stick and cloves over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until steaming but not boiling.
- 1 litre milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
✅ Done when: milk is steaming, with small bubbles at the edge, but not boiling
Melt the chocolate
Break the chocolate into the hot milk and add or sugar if needed. Stir until melted, then raise the heat to medium-high so it rises up the pot, lower to low for about 1 minute, then raise again; repeat this 2-3 times over about 5 minutes to deepen the flavor.
- 125g chocolate
- 1–2 tbsp or sugar
✅ Done when: chocolate is fully melted and the mixture has risen and been stirred down 2-3 times
Make it foamy
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Serve with cheese
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
The Story Behind the Dish
Cacao was drunk in the Americas for millennia before the Spanish adopted it, and in colonial Santa Fe de Bogotá hot chocolate became a daily ritual. The chocolate santafereño, served with cheese and bread, is still the classic order in the historic cafés of La Candelaria.
It's taken at breakfast and at onces, Colombia's afternoon snack time.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Dropping cheese into hot chocolate surprises visitors, but the salty, melting cheese and sweet chocolate are a perfect match.
💡 Fun Fact
It's traditionally made in a chocolatera, a tall, narrow aluminium jug designed so the chocolate can foam up high without boiling over.
Bogotá (Santa Fe)
4.60°N, -74.08°W
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