A mug is just a mug, right? A vessel for hot drinks, we have mismatched ones, chipped one, maybe we have a favourite one. But, essentially, they’re all pretty much the same. Well, no. That’s not right at all. The mug you choose affects everything about your drink, how it tastes, how it feels, the whole experience. So this year I wanted to find the perfect hot chocolate mug and WOAH did I stumble down a rabbit hole of pintrest, instagram design blog blurriness. Over ONE mug. You see, hot chocolate isn’t tea or coffee...it’s more of an occasion drink, a treat.

A proper hot chocolate is as cosy an indulgence as you can have.

You hold that drink differently, you cup it preciously, you blow foamy flumps of milk from the top- because it just feels good. You sort of loud slurp it rather than sip it. You let the top of your lip get sticky and you smudge the chocolate flecks with your fingertips before licking them clean. You can’t waste all that on a normal mug. So, I designed my own ( see, I told you this got out of hand) and, well, it’s the PERFECT hot chocolate mug. It holds exactly the right amount of thick hot chocolate- any less it wouldn’t be a treat, any more and you’d feel a bit urgh. It’s ceramic, soft cashmere grey, the colour of decadent autumn scarfs, wire rimmed glasses and Danish cake shops- I'm GUESSING here, I've not been to Denmark. And it doesn’t have any handles. Because you don’t need handles for hot chocolate- you’re not distractedly sipping whilst typing on a keyboard or fiddling with the toaster and spilling cereal. You’re curled up, hands hugging your hot chocolate, pouring yourself into it. You’re having a flipping moment here. So my mug does just that, sits in your cradled palms in a gorgeously petite egg shape and is so deliciously fit for purpose I could well up. They arrived this week, shipped just in time for the air to turn cooler and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve spent the weekend packing them up into gift sets- The perfect mug for my perfect hot chocolate.

And here's how to whip this up at home, my obsessed over recipe for hot chocolate decadence: 

What you’ll need

1.  handcrafted gourmet marshmallows (toasted coconut are my favourite in a hot chocolate) 
2. 100g of 70% dark cocoa shards
3. the perfect mug…well of course you do!

What to do

1. pour 250ml of milk into a saucepan, place on a low to medium heat and bring to just below the boil.

2. remove from the hob and add 50g of dark chocolate to the pan, whisking until fully melted. 

3. return to the hob and simmer for 2 minutes on a low heat until the chocolate has thickened and is rich in colour.

4. Pour into the perfect mug and top with a gourmet marshmallow.

My tips 

1. For a spicy twist- Infuse the warm milk for 5 minutes with 1 cinnamon stick, 1 star anise and 2 cloves. strain out the spices before adding the chocolate shards.
2. For extra indulgence- whisk in 1 teaspoon of milk powder for an intensely creamy Parisian- style hot chocolate. 
3. For a boozy kick- pour a glug of dark rum, whisky or mezcal into the pan and whisk through just before serving.