TRINIDAD COCOA TEA

RECIPE ADAPTED BY RAMIN GANESHRAM FROM HER BOOK SWEET HANDS: ISLAND COOKING FROM TRINIDAD & TOBAGO(HIPPOCRENE BOOKS, NY OCTOBER 2005 $29.95) AVAILABLE AT BARNES & NOBLE, AMAZON.COM, OR HIPPOCRENEBOOKS.COM

Makes 16 ounces hot cocoa mix, enough for 16 8-ounce servings

Trinidadian chocolate is considered to be among the finest in the world, and large chocolate manufacturers from Europe buy the crop to flavor more widely produced but inferior chocolates from Africa and South America. Cocoa tea is made from cocoa sticks, which are 100 percent pure Trinidad cocoa beans ground into a paste with local spices. The sticks are then dried and grated into boiling water to create a "tea" that is then flavored with condensed milk. Because pure Trinidad chocolate is not readily available outside of the country, I have adapted this recipe to use chocolate from producers that use a high percentage of Trinidad chocolate or Trinitario beans in their product. Because Venezuela’s terroir is so close to that of Trinidad’s Scharffen Berger’s limited edition El Carmen, single source Venezuelan chocolate bar is also a wonderful substitute.

For the chocolate mix:

• 2 (3-ounce) bars Scharffen Berger 82% Extra Dark or Limited Edition 72% El Carmen finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

For each serving:

• boiling water
• 2 tablespoons hot cocoa milk
• whole milk and heavy cream to taste drop of vanilla extract

Combine the ingredients for the chocolate mix and store in a glass jar with a tight lid. To make individual servings of cocoa tea, boil 1 cup of water and add 2 tablespoons of the cocoa mix. Stir well and bring to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat. Add milk and heavy cream to taste.

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