Rich and chocolaty champurrado, a Mexican beverage in the atole family, is easy to prepare with a mix from La Monarca Bakery, a chain in the Los Angeles area now selling it nationwide. Serve it with tamales or, for Epiphany, to sip with a circular rosca de reyes (king’s cake). It combines masa harina with cinnamon-scented chocolate and brown sugar to simmer in water or milk, and should be whisked to a froth. The bakery sells the mix with a molinillo, the traditional carved wooden Mexican stirring tool. Champurrado is usually a breakfast drink, but is inviting on a chilly late afternoon with a shot of mezcal. Mexican hot chocolate and coffee, Cafe de Olla, seasoned with spices, are also available. La Monarca’s name relates to the 1 percent of sales of all packaged items that it donates to Ecolife Conservation, a nonprofit working to protect the hordes of Monarch butterflies that winter in central Mexico.
Champurrado, hot chocolate $10 or $18 with molinillo; coffee (Cafe de Olla), $16, lamonarcabakery.com.
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