Brewing Cocoa

This is Brewing cocoa - it has been roasted and ground, with the husk, for the purposes of making a hot brewed chocolate drink, and is not suitable for making chocolate.

There has recently been a lot of buzz about various brewing chocolates. Choffy and Crio Bru are the two big ones that come to mind. I’ve received more inquires than I can count about what makes them so special, if my roasted cocoa beans will work and how one can make their own hot chocolate drink with minimum fuss.

Up until this point, I didn’t have any really good answers. Now I do and am offering a selection of cocoa beans roasted and ground (with the husk) for the expressed purpose of making hot brewed chocolate.

Your tastes may vary but I recommend starting with the following proportions and times:

4 T (35-40 g) / 8 oz boiling water
Steep 5 minutes
Press (assuming you are using a press pot - drip works ok too)
Enjoy straight, with milk (or cream) and/or sugar.

I have only included the cocoa beans that I found made a good brewing chocolate. Some like the Papua New Guinea for instance, where it is great as a piquant, smoky chocolate, simply comes through sharp and acidic when brewed.

Finally, keep in mind this will not give you classic 'hot chocolate'. Brewed chocolate is a different, yet very enjoyable, animal - enjoy it for what it is, not for what it is not.