|
Post by jabanico on Feb 13, 2012 18:00:03 GMT -5
what is the best / purest way to make hot cacao / chocolate drink? definitely it isn't one from the regular grocery cocoa powder.
anyone care to share their process / recipe for brewing hot pure cacao drink from nibs, cacao powder or cocoa liquor?
thanks.
|
|
|
Post by oakandsage on Mar 1, 2013 15:51:27 GMT -5
The best hot cacao drink is the one you will enjoy without having to put anything in it that you don't want in your body. I would guess from your other post that you are defining best as healthiest - but as I alluded to in my response to your other post, "healthy" is a matter of some debate. If you want as many antioxidants as possible and as little fat as possible, cocoa powder with the cocoa butter extracted has to be your starting point because anything else will contain a fair bit of fat. If you want to use a less processed food in your drinks *and* want to avoid fat, you can steep brewing chocolate - which has been roasted and very coarsely ground - but who knows whether all the nutrients you want will be extracted in the brew? Like so many things in life, it's a trade-off. Rather than focusing on the density of nutrients, I'd be inclined to focus on adding as little as possible of what you don't want. Chocolate can be fairly bitter, and people often like to add milk and/or sugar to it. Assuming you want a palatable drink, the healthiness of your drink will be limited by how little sugar you can stand to put in it (I haven't yet met ANYONE who claims that sugar is good for your health). If you're going for purity you might also consider milk an adulterant; everyone has their own opinion on that topic. I don't know very many people who drink hot chocolate from cocoa powder unsweetened. People who want it healthier usually sweeten it with honey, which is not strictly a raw food. I find that hot chocolate made from cocoa powder has a chalky taste no matter what I do. I've never made hot drink from liquor, but I've made it from bar chocolate. I would guess the process and flavor is similar. If made from bittersweet chocolate it can be pretty intense! But if you can drink it straight, it might be good. I doubt you will get a good quality drink with water, because of all the fat in the liquor, it probably wouldn't dissolve. You'd definitely have to use milk or cream. The milk or cream should be hot. I've never tried to make a drink from bittersweet bar chocolate and hot water because I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work and if it did it'd be kind of gross - like drinking salad dressing! Then there's brewing chocolate. Flavor wise I think it is good enough to drink without sugar. I add milk but many people don't. If you like black coffee you might like brewing chocolate. Brewing chocolate is what I reach for when I really want chocolate flavor in a hot drink, but I don't want something rich or sweet. People talk a lot about the health benefits. I haven't stopped needing sleep or become ten years younger (that I've noticed). Maybe I'm not eating/drinking enough chocolate... I'd better go try and fix that now! Side note: There's no "best" cacao drink, but there's a "worst" - pre-made hot chocolate mix. Ugh. It's a big improvement in every possible way (except convenience) if you use actual cocoa powder or bar chocolate! But I imagine I'm preaching to the choir there.
|
|
|
Post by chocolatejesus on Mar 5, 2013 12:19:37 GMT -5
For me, the best hot cocoa is the one I cannot stop drinking. But that is also a great risk, you know what they say, that chocolate is just another strong drug.
|
|
|
Post by oakandsage on Mar 6, 2013 12:38:19 GMT -5
Oh I know what you mean! I made chocolate for the first time this weekend- and, er, I made 2 1/2 pounds but somehow there's only a pound left...
|
|