Hot cocoa taste test (& recipe)

A few weeks ago, I made a 'decadent' purchase - $0.55 worth (2 1/2 Tbs?) of Valrhona cocoa powder. If you don't know what the brand is, google it. Basically, it's supposed to be one of the best you can get and super-crazy good. For a couple of months I've been wanting to try to make some good hot cocoa mix. I am ok with the instant stuff for the most part, but all of the fake things in it started to make me wonder what real stuff tastes like. I know I already shared one, but that takes real chocolate and fat-free evaporated milk: two things I don't always have on hand.

Not that I am a complete stranger to homemade cocoa. My mom used to make it on the stove top for us fairly often. Probably because it was cheaper than mix. Actually, maybe it was because me and my little sister used to steal the canisters and keep them in our room and eat the mix dry. That and fruity drink mix. I wonder if my parents ever knew it was us... Plain cocoa cannot be stolen and eaten in the same way, though it does make a tasty hot chocolate.

Back to the point! A few years ago, my mom also told me about something she and my little brother called "cocoa tea" - plain cocoa in hot water. She said it satisfied her chocolate craving. Her chocolate tooth must be different than mine, though, because that stuff never really mixed and didn't taste like much to me. I wanted something fast, easy and that could give control over the sugar added. After some searching of food blogs (in vain), I found it on the Hershey's site, of all places. Their directions and proportions are a little funny, so I've redone them below.

Now, the taste-test bit. With my recipe in hand, I compared 3 kinds: Swiss Miss (instant!), recipe with Hershey's, recipe with Valrhona. Both recipes were made with whole milk, the instant with skim (since it already contains milk.) We had some interesting results. Hershey's definitely tasted most "classic" which I suppose isn't surprising coming from Americans! We thought that the instant just tasted off. The Valrhona had a darker color and flavor, which I really liked. A Korean girl that tasted the three preferred the instant - she said because of the vanilla and other flavors.

I tried this recipe with soymilk, and it mostly worked. Just watch it carefully or else it will boil over and get everywhere. Trust me. I also tried it with one of my favorite uses for instant: thrifty girl's mocha (pictured.) Recipe variation included below.

Hot cocoa
Serves: 1 Prep time: A beautiful 3-5 minutes

1 Tbs cocoa
2 Tbs granulated sugar (or less! or substitute!)
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla (optional)

- Put the cocoa and sugar in an empty cup
- Add about 2 tablespoons of the milk, and mix until the cocoa and sugar are incorporated. Add a tiny bit more at a time if yours does not turn into a smooth, thick liquid.
- Add remaining milk, give a quick stir, pop in microwave for 90 seconds (stir every 30 seconds if you want, but do watch it to make sure you don't make a mess.)
- Stir, add vanilla if you like or other flavor and drink!

Nutrition facts (using whole milk): Calories - 256 Fat - 8.6g Carbs - 39.2g Protein - 8.8g

Nutrition facts (using 1% milk): Calories - 212 Fat - 3.1g Carbs - 40.3g Protein - 9.2g


Thrifty girl's mocha
Serves: 1 Prep time: A beautiful 3-5 minutes

1 Tbs cocoa
2 Tbs granulated sugar (or less! - I made mine with just 1 Tbs)
3 Tbs half & half (or cream or whole milk)
1 cup freshly brewed coffee
1/4 tsp vanilla (optional)

- Put the cocoa and sugar in an empty cup
- Add the half & half, and mix until the cocoa and sugar are incorporated. Add a tiny bit more if yours does not turn into a smooth, thick liquid.
- Pour in your coffee and stir - mine got that gorgeous foam you see on top.
- Stir, add vanilla or other flavor if you like and drink!

Nutrition facts (using half & half, 1 Tbs sugar): Calories - 122 Fat - 5.9g Carbs - 17.5g Protein - 2.6g

Nutrition facts (using whole milk, 1 Tbs sugar): Calories - 90 Fat - 2.2g Carbs - 17.6g Protein - 2.7g