Using a Molinillo

Before steam wands and electric frothers, there were wooden molinillos. Their intricate grooves are specifically designed to incorporate air into sipping chocolate and create a thick head of foam. In Oaxaca, if your chocolate doesn’t have any foam, whoever prepared it didn’t do it properly. To use a molinillo, place the end with all the grooves in the pot with hot chocolate and rub the other end of the wooden rod between your palms so that it spins back and forth in the liquid. Continue this circular movement for a few minutes until froth starts to form in the chocolate and serve immediately.