Intriguing specialities offered at "Caffé Regina"...
Bicerin
One of the oldest, most famous, and most delectable drinks in Piedmont. A Bicerin is in essence a “bicchierino” or “small glass” of melted chocolate, coffee, and milk. Back in the mid 1800's, when the bicerin was the trend of the times, there were three main varieties: pur e fior (coffee and milk), pur e barba (coffee and chocolate) and un po’d tut (milk, coffee, chocolate). Some maintain that this drink was invented at Caffè Florio, but today the most famous place to enjoy the bicerin is at the café Il Bicerin in piazza della Consolata (although you’re likely to find bicerin served at most of the cafes in Turin).
Cioccolato (Chocolate)
At first it was a drink. Cacao had been imported from Spain since the time of Emanuele Filiberto, but in the year 1678 the Madama Reale Giovanna Battista Nemours made it officially legal to drink the substance. Later in the 18th Century chocolate artisans began to solidify chocolate into bars, and a number of great chocolate factories sprang up, such as the Caffarel (in the area of Valdocco, a district of Turin) where the Swiss came to learn the art, as I humbly admit, as Swiss.... In 1865, however, came the invention of the gianduja – the most famous chocolate of Piedmont, made from chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. Today the tradition of gianduja chocolates and giandujotti is as alive as ever – you can hardly count the number of shops that hand make this delicacy