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Chocolate con leche

What: Hot chocolate heaven in a soup-size bowl. Made with milk and served blistering-hot, it’s richer and thicker than chocolate con agua, but not overly so. This is perhaps the best way to experience Oaxaca’s famous chocolate tradition (see also: tejate).

Where: We had ours at Fonda Florecita in Mercado de la Merced (Insurgentes betw. Murguía and Morelos, map), but you can find this beverage at nearly all the fondas in any market (for example, Comedor Candita, puesto 108-109, in Mercado 20 de Noviembre, map).

When: Daily, 7:30am-5:30pm. This makes a great breakfast accompaniment, with pan de yema or anything else.

Order: Chocolate con leche (15p); con agua is also available.

Alternatively: Chocolate Mayordomo is one of the big chocolate distributors in Oaxaca and has a few stores from which you can buy chocolate bars and drinks (and bars with which to make chocolate drinks at home; we bought one mixed with nuez, or nut, for 60p)—you can also buy mole at most branches. Likewise, lots of market puestos sell chocolate, including Tonita (no. 80) in Mercado Benito Juárez (Miguel Cabrera at Las Casas, map).