Cola Cao – the most popular drink in Spain

Young or old, everyone in Spain seems to have a soft spot for what I would call Spain’s national chocolate-milk drink – Cola Cao. Although primarily a children’s drink, many adults in Spain also have Cola Cao for breakfast. And if they don’t, then they will at least be able to sing you the theme song from Cola Cao adverts. 

Cola Cao was born in 1946 and has been a star product ever since. After visiting the product’s website, I thought its producer had a good sense of humour when he said: “You will find it in your usual bar or cafeteria, just remember: in the bar, be original… ask for a Cola Cao!” I have since been on the lookout for Cola Cao in any restaurant or tapas bar and believe it or not, there has not been a single one which didn’t have a big yellow box of Cola Cao somewhere behind the bar.

Cola Cao comes in powder form and is intended to be mixed with milk. Many people also add it to their breakfast cereal. Another popular consumption method is dunking María biscuits (a kind of tea biscuit with vanilla flavouring which became popular in Spain following the Spanish Civil War when it turned into a symbol of Spain’s economic recovery after bakeries produced mass quantities to consume a surplus of wheat) into Cola Cao milk.

The curious thing about Cola Cao powder is that it doesn’t really dissolve very well. Instead, clumps of it form floating on the surface of the milk. I asked Vic whether this was not a draw back. He explained that it was part of the appeal. I assume it is something you have to grow up with in order to appreciate it.