Sampling Hot Chocolate From Before Chocolate In Sheffield
Cacao has been enjoyed by humans for thousands of years, in various forms. Nowadays you’re more likely to be drinking an overly sweetened version that is heavily reliant on Cocoa powder (often chemically treated), rather than a more true-to-nature one. Modern impatience, being time-poor, and the need for instant gratification had led to an up-surge in ‘just add boiling water’, sugar-laden offerings. Now, I’m not dissing these, but they don’t provide an intense, satisfying beverage as the sweetness blankets the Cacao’s natural character.
However, you can’t keep a good thing down as the saying goes, and more ardently curious, passionate fans of Cacao have determined to bring it to a wider audience. To that end, the team at Sheffield business, ‘Before Chocolate’, kindly sent The Man and I a couple of packets to try – just in time for prime Hot Choc season (aka Autumn and Winter in our house). Before His Nibs could call dibs though, I headed over to Bestie Bird’s gaff armed with the original variety, knowing that I’d be ushered over the threshold in double-jig time. For as long as we’ve known each other, we’ve been partners in [cacao] crime, so I knew that she’d be as excited as me to try this! Sorry, Man Bird, you’ll have to wait until I return to indulge in the Cacao…
As with most hot drinks there is something comforting about the ritual of making it: the measuring out, the warming of liquid and the pouring out into drinking vessels. BB and I stood companiably together as the milk was carefully simmered (not boiled) in readiness to add the Cacao and unrefined Muscovado sugar mix. In less than 5 minutes we were hugging mugs between our hands and inhaling the rich aroma, smiling happily. Oh, that first delicious mouthful! Our pleasure centres lit up reverentially, recognising the pure quality of the beverage that we were drinking: rich, intense Cacao cocooned our senses, imparting a deep level of comfort to our souls.
Unfortunately, the weekend at BB’s had to come to an end and I headed back to Beak H.Q. Not that I was sad for too long, cos His Nibs said that he’d make me a welcome home mug of the Spiced Hot Chocolate from Before Chocolate – get in, back of the net! This minx has the same marvellous base as its ‘plain’ peer, but with the addition of Liquorice extract and organic Ginger powder for some extra oomph.
Following the same ritual, we weighed the cacao mix and measured out the milk, mixing and whisking them to frothy perfection. The same intense richness hit our palates…just with a pop of warmth from the Ginger and Liquorice; if you want that ‘ooooh’ without any tingle, then this is the treat for you. Safe to say that drinking these treasures was waaaaay more satisfying than having a bog-standard, off-the-supermarket-shelf one; granted, you need to warm the milk and mix it rather than just adding boiled water, but that little bit of effort yields a huge reward.
Huge thanks to Harry and Mandi for having the vision to bring this fabulous creation to the public, and to Paul for reaching out to us. To try this delight for yourselves, visit the website www.beforechocolate.com , then select which variety you want to try (there’s also an Orange one that has got our name all over it!). R.R.P for a 5-serving/135g pouch is £4.99.
All Prices Correct At The Time Of Publishing
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