The best hot chocolate...in the world?
- Thread starter British Red
- Start date
I watched the Netflix show called ‘Rotten’ last week.
Good episode about cacao.
Gives a bad, bad taste in the soul though.
Good episode about cacao.
Gives a bad, bad taste in the soul though.
I tried it, interesting but not to my taste. My partner drinks it that way. She lived in south America for a long time and that's the way the locals drank it there. Well one of the ways.
Interestingly, colombians drink coffee a different way to westerners too. From what I've been told they're not big coffee drinkers and when they do it's heavily sweetened iirc. Things like yerba mate are more popular. Plus juice bars.
Interestingly, colombians drink coffee a different way to westerners too. From what I've been told they're not big coffee drinkers and when they do it's heavily sweetened iirc. Things like yerba mate are more popular. Plus juice bars.
Inching Off Topic now, but in Cuba, they do a fantastic, fantastic coffee.
Basically a double Espresso, then they stir in lots and lots of condensed, sweetened milk.
The coffee bean quality is exceptional there, very aromatic and flavorful.
Back On Topic: years ago I was served a Chocolate beverage ‘Inka style’ by a Peruvian.
To be truthful, did not enjoy it much.
For a start, the cacao powder was not as refined as ours. Less taste.
Basically a double Espresso, then they stir in lots and lots of condensed, sweetened milk.
The coffee bean quality is exceptional there, very aromatic and flavorful.
Back On Topic: years ago I was served a Chocolate beverage ‘Inka style’ by a Peruvian.
To be truthful, did not enjoy it much.
For a start, the cacao powder was not as refined as ours. Less taste.
In Jamaica, they make a weird Cacao product.
They take the fermented beans, then crush them, squeeze out excess fat, roll into small balls and let dry.
Some add sugar, some not. Stores well.
They use these balls to either eat as they are or to make Cocoa from.
I can get them from friends and patients.
Acquired, strong flavour. Even if prepared using cream, more sugar and so on.
Unrefined.
They add Cinnamon bark to when they boil the Cocoa.
( I remembered because I saw a container of those cacao balls in the kitchen this morning)
They take the fermented beans, then crush them, squeeze out excess fat, roll into small balls and let dry.
Some add sugar, some not. Stores well.
They use these balls to either eat as they are or to make Cocoa from.
I can get them from friends and patients.
Acquired, strong flavour. Even if prepared using cream, more sugar and so on.
Unrefined.
They add Cinnamon bark to when they boil the Cocoa.
( I remembered because I saw a container of those cacao balls in the kitchen this morning)
I’ve heard similar stories about other South American countries (however they really are “westerners”) I think the logic behind their taste is that they grow some of the best coffee in the world but it’s for export; leaving them with the bitter stuff that needs the sweeteners more.
It’s easy to overseason, it doesn’t take much. You just want to barely taste the heat.
Coffea arabica and C. robusta are two of maybe 30 species of Coffea used for coffee bean production.
The plants themselves are not difficult to grow in pots, we had lots of them at work.
Never got enough for any roasting experiments.
These days, I buy my coffee beans fresh roasted just a mile or two down the road.
I'd like to be able to buy Theobroma seed (chocolate beans) the same way.
The plants themselves are not difficult to grow in pots, we had lots of them at work.
Never got enough for any roasting experiments.
These days, I buy my coffee beans fresh roasted just a mile or two down the road.
I'd like to be able to buy Theobroma seed (chocolate beans) the same way.
Several cultivars of cacao exist too.
But as with coffee, I guess the actual refining process is the most important.
Even the best bean can get ruined.
But as with coffee, I guess the actual refining process is the most important.
Even the best bean can get ruined.
The recipe is from a book of historical chocolate recipes by Nick Trustram Eve and Suzi Richer. Nick trades as 'The Copper Pot' at historical foody type places and reenactors' markets, he has excellent tasties and I always like finding my stall near his
To Make Wine Chocolate (John Nott: The Cooks and Confectioners Dictionary 1723)
Take a pint of sherry, or a pint and half of red port, four ounces and a half of chocolate, six ounces of fine sugar, and half an ounce of white starch, or fine flour; mix, dissolve, and boil all these as before. But if your chocolate be with sugar, take double the quantity of chocolate, and half the quantity of sugar; and so in all.
Or in Nick's words and a much reduced quantity than the above that will do 20 glasses!
100ml of port
30g chocolate (minimum 70% dark chocolate)
10g of sugar
Put it all in a saucepan and gradually bring to a gentle simmer, whisking continuously.
Obviously, I didn't follow the instructions at all. I just tipped the last of a bag of Nick's drinking chocolate (dark chocolate drops with lumps of glass-like sugar in it. This bag was cardamom and long pepper flavour) into a pan along with a couple of small cups of merlot (that I had just been washing my dinner down with), then added 'some' sugar. Stirred it all until it came to a gentle simmer (it changes the consistency of the liquid when it actually starts to simmer) and then sat down to drink it
twas good
I've come to the conclusion that using milk as the liquid portion of hot chocolate is over rated! heehee
I've come to the conclusion that using milk as the liquid portion of hot chocolate is over rated! heehee
Hahaha! try it and let me know, but i suspect white wine with conflakes and red with cocopops
try it and let me know, but i suspect white wine with conflakes and red with cocopops
Hmm I'm thinking if its a milk substitute, how would it be on cornflakes?
I was thinking Bailey’s with both.Hahaha!
