Instant Mix II

We just blew through the holidays in a whirlwind of snow and tinsel, with it came hot chocolates I wish I had never tried and hot chocolates which I have not ever tried. The next few weeks I'll be doing the instant hot cocoas that people showered upon me this holiday after learning that I had a hot chocolate blog. (Easy gifts? We can decide how great they were after tasting each.) I don't have much hope for anything instant, but as I wait for this first cup to cool down beside me, I have to admit that it does look rather creamy and delicious.

This first mix came with a small whisk, which I thought was clever considering a whisk is usually what you need to completely dissolve a mix. I'm keeping it for the later ones. If you whisk long enough you can get something frothy and marvelous, but as usual I simply don't have the patience to sit there with a tiny whisk, whisking away to get froth.

Tastin'. It's shockingly chocolatey, which was... well. Shocking. A hot. And a bit too sugary teeth-hurty for my tastes. It was mixed in with milk, so there is that annoying film that builds up if you don't drink constantly. However, the milk also made it seem creamier, smoother, less of an aftertaste for me.

The mug is deceptive. It's a massive mug, so I imagine with a simple coffee mug it would go closer to the top.

Pretty good, honestly.

Hot Cocoa (Basic Recipe)

I learned something quite crucial to my quest today. Hot chocolate is not the same thing as hot cocoa. Hot chocolate is made from chunks of, you guessed it, chocolate, melted down into the mix. Hot cocoa is from powdered chocolate.


What I am making tonight is the aptly titled Hot Cocoa (Basic Recipe) from an ancient copy of The Good Housekeeping Cook Book (A.N. to Blogspot: Where is your underline option? I had to go and underline it manually with the HTML edit. COME ON GUYS GET ON THE BALL.) When I say ancient, I do mean, ancient. It is copyright 1944.

Anyway, here is the recipe they provided:


However I will be only making one serving, since I am home alone for tonight and I don't think even I could stomach 6 servings of a chocolate drink. So it has been cut down to one serving:

1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp sugar (to taste)
1/4 c. water
~2/3 c. milk
drop of vanilla extract or more

We didn't have any vanilla extract, so I had to get some pure vanilla from this sucker:


Yes, this is a massive wine-sized bottle of vanilla from Mexico.

Some cooking later and here is the cup!


As you can see, it didn't quite fill all the way. The recipe said to beat it to make it frothy, but I'm pretty lazy and this was looking really appetizing, so I skipped it.

The first taste was... weird. I don't really know how to describe it, but it did make me wonder if our milk was just slightly bad. It's not, and after the first sip it started to taste much better. There is still that underlying aftertaste of unsweetened cocoa (which I loathe), but I think if I had used a little more sugar it would have been better. Overall, it was a very nice basic recipe that I could use in the future while trying out different flavors.

Machine Brewed

My mom recently bought this coffee machine that brews individual cups of coffee with these little cup-like things you buy and pop in (this is my best explanation of this machine). Here is a photo! Aren't we glad for digital cameras being used to represent things when words fail?

And here is a photo of the cups. With mug, as that is pretty much a necessity with these things.



The ease of brewing a cup of hot chocolate... or anything, was incredible and highly appealing with this machine, and honestly, it did a pretty great job of it. It took all of 3 minutes to make this cup of hot cocoa, and that included the time it takes for the water to boil (I assume it boils) in the machine. After that it was a simple matter of putting the cup thing in and pulling down a lever. Yeah, I know I'm making all of this seem weird, but it's one of those contraptions you'd have to see to know how it works because I certainly can't explain it.



The cocoa itself left something to be desired... but it's already clear from 2 previous posts that I am incredibly picky about hot chocolate. For something instant but not coming in a little baggy you mix in yourself with hot water, I'd rate it as being pretty good. For an overall hot chocolate taste, I'd rate it low - but that is just the way of things, isn't it?

The chocolate taste wasn't strong, and I kept picking up this weird underlying coffee taste as I drank it. I think something from a previous cup interfered with it, and I'll have to try it again later to see if that was truly the case.

Cinnamon Clove Hot Chocolate

What can I say about this recipe.

It recieved a bad start, after measuring out my supply of bittersweet chocolate I only had 2.8 ounces, if that, so I decided to split the recipe in half. I also only had 2% milk, and while I could have used real cloves or cinnamon quills, I decided instead to use ground cinnamon and cloves - which the recipe said you could substitute (and I do not recommend - it is unholy).

The result was a very, very thick. Surprisingly thick. Hot chocolate with some grit from the ground cinnamon and cloves. Maybe I was in a hurry, maybe I didn't simmer it for long enough, but the fact of the matter was, there was grit.

All of these things I would be able to look past if the hot choc still tasted good, but it was just too bitter for me, and I hate bitter aftertastes. If I were to make this again, I might use a semi-sweet chocolate instead, only less of it to still keep it from being too sweet.

In an attempt to make the mix thinner, I filled the empty space of the mug with milk and reheated it. It was a little more palatable, but still, not my taste.

I will attempt this recipe again in the future, when I actually do have 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, and whole milk.


1 cup whole milk
1 cinnamon quill
2 whole cloves
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate - finely chopped
1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar
Serves One

Instant Mix

I'm home ill today which means that I should be drinking tea. Except I hate tea, so I end up guzzling hot chocolate instead.

Picture this: You're feeling sick, laid up in bed... a hot drink sounds nice, but do you want to spend all that time making a fantastic cup of hot cocoa when there are instant mixes available?

Sadly, you will probably agree to doing the latter, which leaves you with this:


(Brand name blurred so as not to give free-advertising to that brand name. Also, all packaged mixes suck as far as I'm concerned - didn't want to discriminate and make you believe this was the worst.)

"JUST ADD HOT WATER"

I will give you some free advice. Any product that says that will not taste good, or will taste fine and yet leave a horrible aftertaste. Think about it, make good decisions in life.

Oh dear. Well, time to turn the kettle on, rip open that package, and see what we have to deal with.

Appetizing! It's Cocoa's anemic cousin.

Kettle's boiling!

Queue ten minutes of stirring.

Finished!

Oh... I guess that's it then. Notice the way the mix doesn't completely dissolve even after stirring viciously for quite some time. Isn't that great? Who doesn't love hot cocoa grit in their teeth?











Close-up of the bog before it goes into my trembling and unwilling tummy.





It took me a while but I finished that entire mug. It could have been my stomach, but it left much to be desired. (Aren't you all surprised to hear that). It was about 70% water, 20% cocoa, 10% vampire elixir. I hate copious amounts of water added to hot chocolate, but with an instant mix - JUST ADD HOT WATER - you can't really get around that. I dare not try this with milk (I fear some sort of clotted disaster).

So, final verdict:

I still feel sick.

Peculiar Ingredient List

Ingredients you don't really expect in hot cocoa, or, if you are me, have around at all.

• Cardamom
• Ceylon cinnamon quills
• Fresh tarragon
• Grand Marnier
• Hungarian hot paprika
• Lavender
• Malted milk powder
• Masa Meal
• Matcha powder
• Papelon, panela, pilonzillo, or panocha
• Peppermint oil
• Pistachio
• Rosebuds
• Saffron
• star anise (whole)
• Sucanat
• Szechuan peppers
• Vanilla Bean

My favorite, though unlisted because I'm unsure if I could stomach it: wasabi oil.