Tchaikovsky's Chocolate

The composer Tchaikovsky, creator of ‘Swan Lake’ and ‘The Nutcracker’, was a highly sensitive and anxious individual. To properly relax under the heavy pressure of composition, he established a very heartwarming ‘bedtime ritual’ for himself: every night, no matter how busy he was, he would drink a cup of hot chocolate. He would sit by the window, sipping the sweet hot chocolate, gazing at the night sky or conceiving melodies. Tchaikovsky once confessed to a friend that this warm, sweet drink was the most healing moment of his day. It was precisely this innocent and warm childlike heart that enabled him to write moving pieces full of fantasy, like ‘The Nutcracker’.