Bicerin

Turin, August 1852. In a letter to a friend, Alexander Dumas confided that among the things he would always remember about his trip to Turin was the Bicerin.

The beverage made of chocolate, milk, and coffee – which the author of The Three Musketeers did not hesitate to describe as "excellent" – spread throughout Turin beginning in 1840, served in a bicerin (dialect for "a little glass"), which gave this treat its name.

Actually, the Bicerin is a spin off of the Bavareisa, a drink already known in the 17th century. While in the latter the milk, coffee, and chocolate are mixed and sweetened with syrup, in the Bicerin the three ingredients remain very hot and in three separate layers.

During the 19th century in Turin, the Bicerin became a pleasant morning ritual to be ordered at the Caffè. There are three variations: «pur e fiôr», «pur e barba», «un pô ‘d tut». In the first case the bicerin is made with coffee and milk, in the second there is coffee and chocolate, and in the last there are all three ingredients.

The Bicerin is a treat that has endured over the centuries and today represents a jewel in the crown of Turinese chocolate arts. Where can you try one? In the Historic Cafés of Turin, especially at Al Bicerin, the locale in Piazza della Consolata, one of the most zealous keepers of this tradition.

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