Alchemist's Chocolate and Brewing Cocoa Blend - Floor sweeper

Origin: Earth

Region: Tropic of Cancer
Type: A little of this, a little of that.

Certifications: Unique

Year: 2021- 2023

Let's get this out of the way first and foremost. No beans in this blend were actually swept up off the floor. Okay? Good.

That said, this blend was totally inspired by the end of day sweepings. It scary/sad how much cocoa gets dropped while packing, even when we are very careful (it doesn't go to waste, I use it for my own in house tests). But it got me thinking.

This is the result. And I'll tell you the secret recipe.....equal parts of everything in stock at the time. The result? Read on...

There is vanilla in the nose. It is also fruited. Unsurprisingly it kind of defies description but we are kind of fruit heavy currently. It also have a rather rustic quality in both the nose and taste. There is a solid back bone of chocolate. There is also virtually everything else. Tropical fruit, leather, nut and spice. In lighter roasts the it is more fruit forward. Heavier roasts makes it heavier on the palate. Bitterness is a little more procounced as are the sharper dried fruit notes (think rum soaked fruitcake). Heavily floral notes in chocolate are pretty rare, and being a massive blend, this one is pretty well missing any.

Brewing Cocoa

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/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.

Just roast it. Learn from it. You are going to be really hard pressed to mess it up. There is so much going on that if you roast it light, one set of flavors will come through. Medium will yeild yet another and heavier roasts will likewise sing it's own unique song. Me? I like it roasted right in the goldilock's zone. A couple pops, 15-16 minutes, brownie smell. Yum.