For their 55th anniversary last November, NYC’s Serendipity 3 broke the Guinness’s Book of World Records for the largest cup of hot chocolate. Located in the Theater District near Times Square, this popular restaurant filled a huge white cup with approximately 4 gallons of luxurious hot chocolate.

It was made from 12 pounds of their specially blended cocoa (from 14 different cocoas), 8 quarts of heavy cream and one pound of finely shaven French chocolate. It was 100 times larger than the cup of hot chocolate on their regular menu. You’d need a giant group of chocolating loving friends to help you drink it, and you would all be divvying up the 19,000+ calories. This caloric count doesn’t even include the whipped cream which floated like white, fluffy islands on top of the unique beverage. You’d also be “spooning out” in the neighborhood of $600 for this luscious culinary experience.

We may not have NYC’s humongous record-holding cup of hot chocolate on the West Coast. However, Portlanders are blessed with a large selection of places to go “hot chocolating.” We can warm our tummies and nurture our souls with some extraordinary hot cocoa and drinking chocolates all around the Metro this winter.

Last month The Oregonian had an article by Danielle Centoni on “hot chocolate hot spots” in Portland. It included the following popular spots: Alma, Sahagun, Cacao, The Sugar Cube, Coffeehouse Northwest, and Pix Patisserie.

To that list I would also recommend visiting Sweet Masterpiece in the Pearl, your nearest Moonstruck Café, and the Pearl’s Caffé Umbria for a cup of great cocoa, drinking chocolate, and European-inspired mocha drinks. All these choices confirm how passionate Portlanders are, on both sides of the counter, about their chocolate.

Whether you are tasting solid eating chocolate, confections, or in liquid form, just remember that chocolate tasting is very personal. Have a great time “hot chocolating” this season to find your favorites! It is a great time of year to visit or revisit the list of shops mentioned here. Let us know about your top picks. Chocolating: it’s a wonderfully relaxing winter pastime, rain or shine, on either coast.