I can still remember the quizzical look that would cross my college friends faces on the mainland when I would ask for “Cocoa Tea” in the cafeteria.
“You mean hot chocolate?” They would correct.
No, I meant Cocoa Tea!
Cocoa Tea is a warm delicious chocolate morning drink that is a far distant cousin to the pre-packaged, marshmallow-ed versions I had in the States. It’s made traditionally on chocolate producing islands like St. Lucia and Dominica, but it is also sparingly locally grown and made here on St. Croix. Someone must LOVE you, if they share a cup of cocoa tea with you!
The dried cocoa beans are roasted, ground, and spiced before they are rolled into smokey flavored, speckled, rustic, dark chocolate cylinders. While I know this is chocolate, there is a real coffee-ness to this drink. I suspect it is a combination of the dark roasting of the cocoa beans and the caffeine that is naturally occurring in chocolate. At first glance it looks like a weird lump of unrefined chocolate. But when married to other flavors and ingredients it becomes something you taste and then SIGH into the next sip and the next….
It is difficult and virtually impossible to find these sticks anywhere outside of the Caribbean, and lately its getting tougher to even find them on the island. You have to know someone who sells them, or scour the local farmers market to score a few sticks! I save mine for ultra-special occasions.
So if you can’t find it, substitute some Mexican chocolate, and decrease the cinnamon and nutmeg, since Mexican chocolate is already spiced. I would also add a few bars of white chocolate to mimic the coco butter taste in this drink. It is NOT the same in taste or texture, but it maybe-perhaps-kinda-could do in a pinch. And if all else fails, substitute equal parts dark and white chocolate and pretend your drinking cocoa tea!
I also use a Mexican sugar in this recipe called Piloncillo. Piloncillo is an unrefined sugar that has outstanding sugar cane undertones! I adore it. Try coco tea for breakfast on a cool, sea-scented, island day. Or if your on the mainland, share some on a bitter cold winter morning dreaming of sand and surf! Either way, it is a very rich drink, born to be slowly savored!
Ingredients:
45-50 grams of shaved or grated Caribbean Cocoa
1 (Fresh) Bay Leaf
Piloncillo Sugar or (Evaporated Cane) Sugar to taste
1 Cup Water
1/2 Teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg(If you are using pre-ground nutmeg use a bit less as it is finer)
Pinch of Salt
1/4 Teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Real Vanilla Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Almond Extract
2-3 whole cloves
A pinch of Allspice
1 Cup Organic Half and Half
1 Cup Coconut Milk (canned can work, but fresh is SO good)
Directions:
Using a serrated knife or a box grater chop or grate the chocolate. It doesn’t have to be a fine chop.
Boil about one cup of water and add the grated cocoa, sugar, salt, bay leaf, and spices (except the extracts).
Cook over medium heat for about fifteen minutes until the chocolate is dissolved. This long simmering helps to release the oils in the cocoa.
Stir in coconut milk and half and half and let simmer on medium-low heat for about twenty to thirty minutes. Stir it occasionally and make sure it doesn’t boil or bubble over.
This slow simmer allows the flavors to more fully develop.
In the last five minutes of simmering add the extracts and stir.
You can strain the cocoa tea to remove any bits of chocolate that may not have been dissolved and any whole spices that remain.
The oily sheen floating on the top of this “tea” is actually cocoa butter from the chocolate. The fat from the chocolate butter enhances the intensity of the roasted cocoa beans without making the drink feel in any way greasy. It is a rich drink, so only a small amount is necessary! Sip slowly and enjoy!
I actually found the cocoa sticks at the Barren Spot grocery store before I headed back to the mainland. Can’t wait to use it.
Really? Hmmm.. you just gave me a new source! lol. Let me know how it comes out!
This chocolate tea sounds divine… I must try it with my Healthy Dark Belgian Chocolate of course…Ny friend from St. Croix referred me to your page, glad she did.
Deanne, I saw your post, and I planned on responding today. Thank you! For taking a look. And if you can talk your friend into getting you some local chocolate from here or from Dominica/St. Lucia as one interested in chocolate, I would be VERY curious to know what you think about the flavor. It almost tastes coffee-ish in some ways. Very unusual and unlike any other process cocoa I have ever had. Beyond just taste there is something very important about the nutrition in this drink, especially with its minimal hand-rolling process.
P.S.– I see you are from BC! My husband lived there for many years, and has kids there too! Beautiful place!! 🙂
Tanisha
Love Cocoa Tea. Reminds me of my childhood in T&T. No rum was used however. Must try this grown up version.
Let me know how you like the grown up version, June! 🙂
My Mom is from Dominica and she will make the coco tea for our traditional breakfast in St. Croix. Love it. I’m pressntly living in Texas and I asked my Mom to bring me back some coco on her last trip to Dominica. She brought me back a few, however she said that it was hard to come across and how expensive they are.
Thanks for the recipe!!!!
Let me know how the recipe comes out! My mom is from St. Lucia, and she told me that it is getting harder to get the cocoa sticks as well. I guess in many ways it is a dying art. Maybe, I’ll have to do a post on how to make the rolls. It would be a shame to lose that art! 🙂
Can’t wait to try your special recipe for cocoa tea! On a recent trip to Grenada we had the pleasure of visiting Belmont Estate. They make and sell the most amazing cocoa balls using organically-grown beans from the Grenada Chocolate Company and other local farmers belonging to the Grenada Organic Cocoa Farmers Co-operative Society Ltd. Needless to say, I returned to Ontario with a year’s supply of cocoa balls, GCC dark chocolate bars and cocoa powder! Plus a lifetime supply of nutmeg, mace, allspice, cloves…from around the island. I am looking forward to exploring your site.
Marion, it is the BEST recipe for Cocoa Tea! It is just tooooooo good! Please let me know how it turned out! Caribbean spices are incredible and getting them directly from the source, “The Spice Island Grenada” is an even more awesome treat! Every person should have a taste of Cocoa Tea! 🙂
Hi. I have recently discovered your site and I am so excited to try these recipes for my family. I am Haitian American and we islanders share many variations of the same food. Although, I am part of the diaspora, my heart lies in the islands. This “cocoa tea” recipe reminds me of winter mornings in the northeast where I can, luckily, find cocoa sticks and balls relatively easily. I will let you know how these other dishes come out. Im sure they’ll be a hit though!
Thank you Samantha!! I hope you enjoy your kitchen adventures! Looking forward to hearing how it turned out! 🙂