Gourmet Coffee Chatter

The saw goes that if it tastes good it’s bad for your health. This, of course, is not always true. Take the case of hot cocoa.

Recent studies have shown that hot cocoa is a good source for antioxidants. In fact, a better source that both red wine and tea. Hot cocoa was found to have twice the antioxidants of red wine and three to five times the antioxidants of tea.

Don’t get too excited though, the caloric and trans fat content of hot chocolate can contribute to obesity and dental problems. This is mostly due to the cocoa butter and added sugar. Hot cocoa has the cocoa butter removed but may still have added sugars.

In moderation, however, you can enjoy hot cocoa as part of a healthy diet.

Until next time – happy sipping.

Today’s recipe comes from the folks at MoCafe. It call for using the Mexican Spiced Ground Chocolate hot chocolate mix, but you can substitute another product.

Aztec Iced

- 1.5 scoops MoCafe Mexican Spiced Ground Chocolate
- 4 oz hot milk
- 7 oz cold milk
- 12 oz glass filled with ice

Mix hot water and hot chocolate mix together. Add the cold milk then pour over ice.

Yield: 12 oz.

Enjoy.

Cocoa is a home grown product, originating in the Americas. The ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures used it as a ritual drink and even as a form of money. The earliest forms of the cocoa drink was a foamy liquid, spiced with red pepper and other spices. Drunk mainly by the royalty and upper class, it was a status symbol drink.

Cocoa was a post-Columbus export to Europe, presented by a native delegation to Prince Phillip of Spain in 1544. The Spanish were responsible for the importation of cocoa trees to both Asia and Africa. The Spanish maintained a monopoly over cocoa in Europe for about 100 years when the popular drink gained great popularity in England and France. Cocoa and the other popular byproduct of the cocoa bean, chocolate, were soon popular all over Europe and any place else the great empires had sway.

By the mid-1800s cocoa trade dominance had moved to Amsterdam. Dutch advances in the processing of the cocoa bean to produce cocoa powder paved the way to the first big scale production of chocolate bars in England and the invention of Milk Chocolate in Switzerland.

So today when you grab your tin of hot cocoa mix, pause for a moment to consider the long journey the humble cocoa bean took to get to your kitchen. Then don’t forget to add the marshmallows.

Until next time – happy sipping.

What does Christmas remind you of?  Hot cocoa in a cup with marshmallows floating on top. You are expectant as you are handed a steaming cup of hot cocoa. You hold it under your nose for a while to fully savor the inviting aroma of the chocolate. It feels steamy and hot and you don’t want to burn your tongue, so you hold it a little while longer. You even blow on it a little to hasten its cooling.

The first sip is tentative. And then you swallow a mouthful and feel the warmth of the liquid going down your throat.  What a feeling! You forget about the chilly winter outside.  Instead you experience a fond remembrance of family, tradition and love. You just sit there, taking sip after sip until the drink turns cold and you hung your head in slumber.

While used interchangeably, hot chocolate and hot cocoa are two distinct products.

Cocoa (often called drinking cocoa) is made directly from the cocoa bean. Most of the cocoa butter is removed from the bean and what’s left is ground into a powder. Consequently cocoa must often be reconstituted using milk instead of water. Cocoa is also less sweet, more of a dark chocolate flavoring, and much lower in fat content than hot chocolate.

Hot chocolate is made from bar chocolate, which already contains cocoa, cocoa butter and sugar. Most hot chocolate is made from milk chocolate, although it can be made from dark, semi sweet and bittersweet chocolate. (When not made with milk chocolate additional sugar may be added to counteract the increased bitterness of the chocolate.) Hot chocolate usually also contains powdered milk allowing it to be reconstituted using water.

So, stoke up the fire, stare out the window at the falling snow and take a deep sip of cocoa (or chocolate). The marshmallows are optional

Until next time – happy sipping.

When the September winds turn chilly and the leaves begin to color and eventually plummet to the ground, I start to lament summer’s brevity. That emotional response lasts all of two seconds, though, because I’m then reminded of autumn’s own distinct pleasures. Football season kicks into gear during the fall months, and fans can bundle up to cheer for their team. Our breaths become visible in the crisp morning air, and at night our beds feel that much snugger.

Perhaps best of all, we can finally justify that guilty hot chocolate habit. Few things taste better in the morning, especially if you need a break from coffee’s jilting bitterness. Whether it’s mixed with water or milk, hot chocolate mix creates a rich, fragrant drink that warms the soul and the stomach simultaneously. Fall really isn’t so bad after all.