I have been thinking of replacing coffee with hot chocolate for the last few months. The problem is that that is as far as I have gotten - thinking and no research/action, lol. I hear hot chocolate is very beneficial and especially when compared to coffee/caffeine . Now I need to do some research. @Nateninja21 posted hot chocolate in the Special Christmas/Holiday foods thread and it triggered this post!
Is there any particular/better cocoa to use for hot chocolate? Does it matter on preparation - one way better or more practical than another? Anyone have experience with year round drinking of hot chocolate/cocoa??
I havenât really mastered this experiment myself but I would suggest melting your favourite chocolate and adding it to milk or water (your preference). I believe this to be one of the best ways to make hot chocolate.
Why do you want to quit coffee and how much of it do you consume?
I know it is completely off-topic, but since Iâve switched to pour-over and buying better quality coffee I automatically went from drinking an entire pot of coffee a day, sometimes even two, to one cup.
Iâve done just that, as well, like you where I am down to one cup but higher quality deliciousness. Congrats to you, too!
Duly noted!! Suppose I must dive into the chocolate world and find one, or several, that I like
lol Truly and delenn13⌠coffee/caffeine is âTrulyâ delicious yet I must fight it!! I hate being addicted to something that causes headaches = caffeine withdrawals suck, hehe. And that video had me smiling, haha
Iâve been making hot chocolate for the family every winter since I got married.
It calms them down and they like it I suppose. Are you asking for recipes to make it?
I only use dark chocolate, the higher % cocoa the better. Normally 80%+. Here is the deep dark secret though, every company brand of dark chocolate tastes different and melts differently. So experimentation is required to find the taste you like. But youâre not done yet. The taste changes yet again if you use milk vs. almond milk vs. soy milk. So more experimentation is required.
As for preparation, I guess you need. Pot, big wooden spoon, water, dark chocolate (from several brand companies), salt, vanilla extract, milk/almond milk/soy milk.
Get clean pot.
For one person, put 1 block of chocolate in pot. If doesnât taste chocolatey enough when finished, do 2 blocks of chocolate per person. (Yet more experimentation!)
Add enough water to melt the chocolate on the stove. Normally enough to cover the base of the pot.
Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of white sugar/brown sugar then turn on the stove. Melt the chocolate completely and stir constantly or it will burn onto the pot.
When you see chocolate bubbles, add the milk/almond milk/soy milk. To get a nice even measure of how much milk you need, get the cup you will drink the chocolate with. Fill the cup with the milk. Then pour the milk from the cup into the pot. Then poof, no measuring. I do this because for my family, every person has different sized cups.
Stir constantly, you will probably be rubbing some chocolate off the sides of the pot with the wooden spoon.
Add pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon or tablespoon of vanilla extract. Some people like more or less. Experimentation!
Stir more.
The chocolatey mess you concocted will not boil so donât try. You know when it is done when you lift the spoon out of pot and see steam coming off the spoon.
Serve and drink and try different combination next time.
These days, I personally use 2 blocks dark chocolate 90% per person, vanilla almond milk, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. I change it sometimes though. But if you donât have those, then you always have other options.
I always thought Hot Choclate would be bad for you (especially since thereâs choclate in the name), thatâs part of the reason i only drink it during Christmas.
And I never knew coffee was bad for you, and I know people sometimes classify caffeine as a drug but I never thought it was genuinely âbadâ for you.
I used to drink coffee every once in a while but after I found that it didnât really make me more active or more awake I stopped, I had no idea that it gave people headaches or sick
but i guess that depends on the person, so each should see what suits them best
If I drink coffee less than 4h b4 going to bed it causes me trouble too (and it used to be longer, when i was younger i couldnt have coffee after noon or it would affect my sleep, but i have trouble catching sleep regardless it must be said, sometimes i canât sleep even tough i only slept 2h the day before⌠[this has become better with the years though, it used to be much worse, and i would often have nights where i didnât sleep at all, now that only happens now and then]), but otherwise iâm fine; i usually drink 2 cups/day, but sometimes 3-4, though rarely, and i sometimes go without coffee at all, and that doesnât cause me any issues either
my mom used to drink coffee all day long and she would go nuts without it, rofl, but she now only drinks 2 to wake up (she absolutely needs that, lol), and then maybe 1 or 2 more during the day
Chocolate also contains (small?) amounts of caffeine. The biggest problem with chocolate is the sugar however, especially if you intend to eat white or normal chocolate compared to dark chocolat. Dark chocolat appears to be the âhealthierâ option.
Have you heard of this wonderdrink called water? You could try that
tytyty for your input GDBringer!! Experimenting does sound inevitable yet you have guided me in the right place. And your directions for preparation are a blessing. Now I know what I will be buying tomorrow after work Thanks again, times a million!!
Cocoa does have small amounts of caffeine in it but no where near as close as coffee. Coffee does have many benefits to it, so they claim, yet as you pointed out it does have adverse affects to some people. Iâve been more agitated lately and I can never have a cup of coffee pass Noon or I will Not sleep. Cocoa has many benefits, too! Again, so they claim, hehe, but I like the whole brain activity/health thing with it. Iâm going to research cocoa a tad more on the adverse affects, and I should do that before trying it, but I am a human being so I am just going to try it and research later⌠eeek :x
I do not drink any soda; cut that out 10yrs ago. My liquid intake is primarily water, some milk with a cup or two of coffee and the occasional fruit/veggie smoothie. It is just now that coffee is completely cut out the last week I do not feel as anxious or agitated nor lethargic after an hour of drinking it⌠BUT now the caffeine headaches of not having it. I had a small cup the other day, and WHAM, headache went away. I had to test it! and I liked it, lol, grr. Gotta try something new in the mornings and perhaps afternoons⌠hot cocoa here I come!
M00, I have a close family member who was an insomniac for Years! I am glad that phase has mostly passed for you! Just watching what we intake and exercise helps but certainly not in everyoneâs case. And definitely not in my family memberâs situation. I would not wish consistent lack of sleep on anyone. I get frustrated if I have a hard problem falling asleep just once a month. Every night or every other night? No no no!
Hmm⌠still curious how consuming 3 cups of coffee a day helps increase the amount of beneficial stomach bacteria⌠intriguing.
Anyhow, thanks everyone⌠much appreciated. Any other insight is always appreciated. Much love to the Chronoâs!!!
<â thatâs really hot cocoa that Iâll be trying to whip up tomorrow night⌠mmMm, letâs hope we can mimic GDBringer!
Honestly, no. It never even crossed my mind. Where I was born and raised they had ice cold sweet tea everywhere⌠ick. I forgot tea could be hot, lol. Iâd like a hot beverage. Hmmm⌠and so many herbal-like teas out there, too. Pique the olâ interest.
And your perspective is probably the same as 99% of the world, hehe, âNormalâ. The south is certainly abnormal especially with its sweet tea nonsense.
I drink tea as my hot beverage of choice so I would greatly recommend it. I would however recommend you look into loose leaf rather than bags if can find it. Thereâs all sorts of fanciful bagged teas though while loose leaf supply tends to be a little more straight forward, unless you have dedicated tea shops.
But the reason the bagged teas have so much else going on is because most of them are such bad quality tea that youâre only getting the infused flavours out of it. Bagged tea is in general made from the dregs of the tea packaging production. There are some âprimeâ bagged teas, some times in these new fancy pyramid bags, but then youâre just paying 10x the price for loose leaf in a case.
I suppose they could be a reasonable choice for your first forays into tea as they require no additional materiel to brew. Still would recommend going with the less fanciful stuff, you want to try out tea not see which kind of perfume you can stand drinking. If you find yourself enjoying tea though I would highly recommend finding yourself a good earthenware pot and mesh strainers to brew with.
If youâre still going for hot chocolate however Iâd recommend skipping all premixed stuff and I donât know about simply melting chocolate into milk, that seems kind of a waste of good chocolate. Have those chocolates on the side with tea instead then.
Instead I would get simple cacao powder, I think itâs usually called âdutch processedâ in the states for some reason. Put a tbs or three into a mug, depending on the size youâre working with and strength you enjoy. Pour a bit of hot water or milk into it and mix so itâs a thick sludge then pour the rest of the liquid in and stir it out. This way you donât get any dry lumps in the finished drink. Finish off with as much sugar as you deem necessary A bit of vanilla sugar or like half a drop of concentrate ads a whole other level to the flavour so try that out too.
I am going to try GDBringerâs method because it sounds mouthwatering. I like the idea of the dutch processed cocoa powder. I just did a quick search between the differences and it may go better with the dutch processed route. And faster prep time, of course, too.
Now the TEA! I recall visiting a local herbal shop when I first moved here a few years back. They had a wide assortment of loose leafed herbal teaâs. I remember being fascinated by the selection and youâve triggered the memory. Finding the right mix of herb that jives with myself may actually be more beneficiary than hot cocoa vs coffee.
I am leaning towards hot cocoa may be too sweet for a year round drink and a tea would be better. I certainly have some experimenting to do with both options before I rule anything out. Taking notes now. Thank you for your insight, too, Fraggles. I never even thought of what to brew it in and my eyes are opening
Thanks again, times a million!!
<â thatâs really hot cocoa that Iâll be trying to whip up tomorrow night⌠mmMm, letâs hope we can mimic GDBringer!