Plan for an afternoon: where to have the best hot chocolate in Palma
What better plan could there be for an afternoon than having the best hot chocolate in Palma? It can be accompanied by an ensaimada, a cuarto, a slice of gató… At Es Príncep, we love taking long walks through the old town of Ciutat, enjoying the luxury shop windows on Jaime III, and stopping at a centuries-old chocolatería, which holds history and various treasures inside. Shall we go in?
C’an Joan de S’Aigo, the beginning of a sweet story
Joan de s’Aigo was a rather intrepid young man with a vibrant commercial vision who, at the beginning of the 18th century, recruited men to collect snow in the Sierra de Tramontana and store it in ice houses, which can still be visited and dot the highest mountains.
The snow was transformed into ice blocks that lasted until summer. Joan de S’aigo served it in his small establishment in Palma, but one day he had an idea: using the icy water and mix it with fruit juice. The people of Palma loved this first slush!
Joan soon came up with the formula for one of the first ice creams made in Mallorca: almond ice cream. And one thing led to another, and the business soon expanded to also serve horchata and hot chocolate with ensaimadas.
In this way, it became one of the first chocolateries in Europe.
Time brought the creation of different types of ice creams and more traditional pastries. And as C’an Joan de s’Aigo evolved with the city, it became a tradition in Palma to go for hot chocolate with ensaimadas after Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve or for an ice cream after Corpus Christi.
Cuartos, gató, potato cocas, cremadillos…
With hot chocolate in winter or with ice cream in summer. Any of these pastries is ideal for a snack or breakfast at C’an Joan de s’Aigo. The menu includes more sweets and a whole selection of savory items, all typical of Mallorca.
A cuarto is a very spongy cake made with just three ingredients: eggs, powdered sugar, and cornstarch or potato starch. It is very light and has a mild flavor, and pairs very well with sweet, hot, or cold drinks.
The potato coca is well known. The best place to try them is Valldemosa but given that Joan de s’Aigo was from this town, it is quite likely that their cocas also came from there.
On the other hand, gató is a delicious dessert made with almonds, eggs, sugar, and the zest of a lemon. It differs greatly from the cuarto, as gató is thicker, juicier, and more compact.
The cremadillos are wonderful puff pastry pastries filled with either sobrasada, a delight, or chocolate, angel hair squash, cream, jam… To savor slowly and in very good company.
Currently, C’an Joan de S’aigo has three establishments in Palma where the magic of the beginning still prevails and is noticeable, above all, in the aroma that fills the air and mixes and confuses the most delicious flavors.