How to Concoct a Special Chocolate Drink

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As a devotee of organic chocolate (I especially enjoy truffles), I often enjoy a chocolate drink, and I thought that it is nice to share my thought about it.

Majority of people put together a "hot chocolate" drink from cocoa powder with milk. Well, it is tasty, but, I think, it is not a real "chocolate" drink. It is a "cocoa" drink. When chocolate manufacturers process cacao beans, they separate cacao beans into cacao (cocoa) powder and cacao oil, and what you get in cocoa powder is only potion of the flavor of the original cacao beans.

Then there are chocolate lovers who know more about what concocts a real chocolate drink. They get unsweetened 100% chocolate bars, shred them, put together the chocolate into milk and sugar, and concoct a really creamy drink. Again, this is fine, but it is still not quite right. They use milk, and the chemicals in the milk impairs the countless useful and savory elements in the chocolate!

Now, the dedicated chocolate drink aficionados create their chocolate drink without milk. They employ only hot water and sugar. Occasionally, they will use espresso to fortify the caffeine level, but water is the main element. This recipe requires somewhat more chocolate than the one outlined above, and it is harder to make it creamy--milk protein gets gooey when it is heated up, and this is what makes the drink so creamy. The real aficionados solve this challenge by using the same kind of hand-held blender that makes cappuccino cream fluffy.

I think that we should do better, and here is why: cacao beans are recognized as one of most medicinal plants available in the world. Its anti-oxidant concentration is more than 10 times higher than that of green tea. It has really large amount of vitamins and minerals, has a large amount of complex amino acids, and is one of most analyzed "herbal" medicines in academia. This is the reason that many people have started getting dark chocolate: not only does it taste good, but it is really healthy for you, too!

This is not the whole truth, however. Although several researches have suggested that dark chocolate is high in anti-oxidants and minerals when compared to milk chocolate, some other useful elements, such as vitamin C and amino acids, are broken down by the heating operation used in making chocolate. That is a pity.

So what can we do? If you are a dedicated chocolate "aficionado," you need to start from cacao beans! It demands hard work and time, but it is well worth the effort.

There are probably dozens of ways to create the drink, but here is what I do. Obtain raw organic cacao beans -- they have to be organic, since the organic cacao is far more flavorful than the non-organic stuff is. You could start from raw cacao nibs, which are cacao beans that have been peeled and crushed into small chunks. Personally, I believe that once the skin has been taken off, the cacao beans are unprotected against oxygen in the air and get oxidized faster. This destroys the vitamin C and other complex amino acids which create diverse flavors. So, I usually begin from the raw cacao beans.

First, smash the bean so that you can peel the skin off. About 20 beans is a good quantity for a small cup (espresso size), which is more than enough to give you a buzz. If you are ambitious, use a hand-grinding equipment. I recommend a large stone grinder with a crushing wheel. If not, use a coffee grinder which opens at the top. The hand-grinding is better since it will not create much frictional heat (which destroys chemicals in the beans), but again it can take quite a bit of time and effort.

Grind the bean until it is pasty. Yes, it gets pasty, since it still contains the cacao oil in it. That is the main difference from cocoa powder. Scoop the paste out from the grinder into a small, heat-resistant glass bowl. Then mix it with a little honey. I often use chestnut honey, since the flavor matches really well with cacao, but you can try different types and see what you love best. Another one I prefer is Hawaiian white honey; it has a vanilla flavor. Depending your taste, one or two teaspoons of honey is plenty.

If you prefer, you can mix in a tiny bit of cinnamon or even some chili powder, or any of your other favorite spices at this stage.

Mix well. Then pour in hot water -- hot, but not boiling. If you like, you can use espresso coffee, black tea, or yerba mate tea. (I have even tried green tea, but it does not work well. I feel the flavor of green tea is too subtle to match well with cacao.) Do not pour in too much water at this stage, but be sure to blend it well. Then pour the mixture though a fine sieve or strainer to get rid of the rough fragments of any un-crushed cacao beans. This is really a must if you have used the hand-grinding method. After straining the mixture, add a bit more hot water. Then use the handheld mixer to "fluff" up the drink and make it creamy.

Once you get the hang of it, you can add several other tricks to this and maybe even make a better way yourself. As for me, this is how I make my real chocolate drink and I am happy with it. Enjoy!

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Toshi Umekoji is a chocolate lover, especially organic dark chocolate truffles. He is always looking for a new way to make organic dark chocolate drink, and experimenting with new chocolate recipes made with raw cacao beans. You can find his favorite organic chocolate truffles at: www.GourmetOrganicChocolateTruffle.com. You may also be interested in his Valentine chocolate site: www.squidoo.com/ValentinesIdeas.

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