Chocolate Santafereño (Hot Chocolate with Cheese)
Bogotá's famous hot chocolate: spiced Colombian chocolate whisked into frothy milk with a traditional molinillo, served with cubes of fresh cheese that you drop into the cup to melt, plus almojábanas or buttered bread on the side.
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Start your free weekContinue with free accessHeat the milk
Heat the milk with the cinnamon and cloves in a tall pot (a chocolatera if you have one) until steaming.
Melt the chocolate
Break in the chocolate and add panela if needed. Stir until melted, then bring to a boil — let it rise up the pot, lower the heat, and repeat 2–3 times. This 'boil three times' step deepens the flavour.
Froth
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Serve with cheese
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Heat the milk
Heat the milk with the cinnamon and cloves in a tall pot (a chocolatera if you have one) until steaming.
Melt the chocolate
Break in the chocolate and add panela if needed. Stir until melted, then bring to a boil — let it rise up the pot, lower the heat, and repeat 2–3 times. This 'boil three times' step deepens the flavour.
Froth
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Serve with cheese
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
The Story Behind the Dish
Cacao was drunk in the Americas for millennia before the Spanish adopted it, and in colonial Santa Fe de Bogotá hot chocolate became a daily ritual. The chocolate santafereño, served with cheese and bread, is still the classic order in the historic cafés of La Candelaria.
It's taken at breakfast and at onces, Colombia's afternoon snack time.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Dropping cheese into hot chocolate surprises visitors, but the salty, melting cheese and sweet chocolate are a perfect match.
💡 Fun Fact
It's traditionally made in a chocolatera, a tall, narrow aluminium jug designed so the chocolate can foam up high without boiling over.
Bogotá (Santa Fe)
4.60°N, -74.08°W
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