Hijita - Mexican Cacao Para Beber with Cardamom - Mar. 24, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Hijita 
Mexican Cacao Para Beber with Cardamom
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) package
Calories: 165 calories (estimate) in 1/2 package
Cost: $11.00 for 1 package 
Purchased from: Hijita.com, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Mexico Theme Week.

Today's Mexican Cacao Para Beber (drinking chocolate) with Cardamom was made by Hijita, LLC (Austin, TX).

This drinking chocolate came packaged as an attractively shaped (hexagonal, floral, multi-dimensional) dark chocolate sculpture; and it was made using lavado* (washed, unfermented) cacao from from Revival Cacao in Tabasco (the state were where most cacao is grown in Mexico).

Aroma and flavor notes (for the chocolate before it was prepared) included: relatively smooth dark chocolate, and warm spice (faint cardamom) and vanilla. (Note: I taste drinking chocolates before and after liquid is added for a full dose of texture and flavors.).

Texture: The unprepared (solid) chocolate was slightly granular (stoneground) with (piloncillo) sugar crystals that slowly dissolved in my mouth. After being prepared, the hot chocolate was smooth and satisfying. 

After preparation as a hot beverage with milk, both flavors and texture were smoother. (The almost crunchy sugar crystals melted into the milk, and the vanilla was warm and comforting.)

Both the base (unprepared) chocolate and the chocolate beverage I made from this drinking chocolate had very appealing and authentic chocolate (smooth dark chocolate, chocolate-y cocoa) and spice (light cardamom, vanilla bean) notes.

I enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to try this unique chocolate, and learning more about Revival Cacao's work in Mexico to bring back fine cacaos to one of the original growing regions. 

Ingredients: "Cacao*, Piloncillo*, Cinnamon*, Vanilla Bean*, Sea Salt*, Cacao Butter* (*sourced direct from small family-owned agroforestry farms in mexico)" (Note: I feel fairly certain this Cardamom blend did contain cardamom, but it may have accidentally been omitted from this ingredients list.)

Allergen-related information: "Produced in a facility that also uses Peanuts & Tree Nuts"

*After careful manually harvesting cacao pods, cacao beans are removed from the outer husk. And instead of fermenting pulp-covered beans, the pulpy fruit is washed (lavado). The washed beans are then dried. Washed beans have a reddish hue and often yield a different flavor profile than fermented cacaos, and may include bitter, astringent, citrus or earth notes. Results vary depending on several factors.

Washed cacao has been used for thousands of years, and is still relatively common in Mexico. Cacao lavado is most frequently used in drinking chocolates and moles (rich chili sauces that contain cacao as one of many ingredients) in Mexico--especially in Chiapas and Oaxaca. Less processing also helps preserve polyphenols/flavanoids.