The drinking chocolate of the Regency Era and the extended Regency Era was not the same as the warm beverage we like to cuddle up with on a comfy couch when the weather turns cold. 
In fact, the drink we affectionately refer to as Hot Chocolate, is prepared in a very different way. Now, with just a few simple ingredients at our fingertips, we can have a cup of this hot, frothy beverage in a matter of minutes. The original drink was much more difficult and time consuming. 
 

Chocolate, just like spices and sugar, were very expensive to acquire, and of course only the wealthy could afford such luxury items. 
 

Hannah Glasse (March 1708-September 1770), was an 18th century English Cookery writer. She published her first cookery “cook” book called, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, in 1747. This book was available in two forms, bound or plainly stitched. Selling for 5 shillings and 3 shillings respectively. 
There were multiple editions, and in them she provided two different versions of drinking chocolate and the best way to prepare the drink. In 1805 the drinking chocolate recipe was adapted. 
Below is that version of drinking chocolate, which you will note, also contains various spices, nuts, and fruited water. 
Also included is a recipe for something called, “Sham Chocolate” which was a way for a person to have a “mimic” of drinking chocolate, without actually adding chocolate/cocoa nibs to the drink… 

 

 

For the chocolate blocks:
•    1 lb unsweetened chocolate
•    2.5 oz anise seeds
•    2/3 oz long pepper (or black pepper)
•    1/6 oz Ceylon cinnamon
•    2.5 oz almonds
•    4 oz pistachios
•    2 oz achiote (also known as annatto)
•    1 lb sugar
•    1/6 oz grated nutmeg
•    2 tbsp orange flower water 

For the drink:
•    1 oz of your prepared chocolate block
•    4 oz milk or water 
Instructions
1.    Prepare the spices: Lightly toast the anise seeds, long pepper, and cinnamon in a dry pan for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Grind the toasted spices finely using a spice grinder. Sift out any larger pieces and regrind them until they are a fine powder.
2.    Process the nuts: Grind the almonds and pistachios into a paste.
3.    Melt the chocolate: Gently melt the unsweetened chocolate.
4.    Combine the ingredients: In a large bowl, mix the ground spices, ground nuts, sugar, nutmeg, and achiote. Add the orange flower water and the melted chocolate, and stir everything until it is fully combined.
5.    Form the chocolate blocks: Pour the mixture onto parchment paper. Form it into small, round tablets or cakes, about 1 ounce each. You can also press it into a mold. Allow the chocolate cakes to cool and harden in a warm place.
6.    Make the drink: When ready to make the drink, heat 4 ounces of milk or water per serving. Add one of your homemade chocolate blocks to the liquid. Stir or whisk until the chocolate is fully melted and blended. Serve immediately. 

For those without access to cocoa, Glasse also provided a recipe for "Sham Chocolate" made without any actual chocolate. 

 

Glasses "Sham Chocolate"

 

•    Boil a pint of milk with some whole cinnamon and sweeten with sugar.
•    Beat the yolks of three eggs and whisk them into the milk mixture.
•    Mill (froth) the mixture with a whisk or chocolate mill, and serve in chocolate cups. 

Other things that were needed in order to prepare this drink. 
Specialty chocolate grater – used to shave very hard blocks of chocolate and the spices added to the drink.

Chocolate Mill (aka a Molinet or Moussoir in France)- which was used to beat in thickening agents to the liquid and create a froth on top of it. 

Molinet – a wooden handled frother, that was rolled between your hands. At the end of the wooden handle was an agitator, consisting of multiple pieces with holes to allow the user to incorporate air into the mixture faster and creating this froth.(Could be wooden or metal) (Now we simply have a battery powered frother with a metal whisk like attachment that does it in  a very short amount of time. 

 

In my book, The Foolish Duke, Della partakes of drinking chocolate on multiple occasions.