A Nice Cuppa

Who doesn’t loves a good drink? Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, Chai… if it warms up a mug, it will warm up my belly. So when I came across Cabaret’s Brewed Chocolate, I couldn’t get it into my stomach fast enough.

Brewed Chocolate… something you’re probably not accustomed to hearing. Yes, Starbucks (sort of) tried it a few years ago. I’m sure some people like it, if you like drinking a melted Hershey’s bar. But Cabaret has perfected the process to bring joy to your mug. Instead of having a morning cup of coffee (what a jolt!) or your evening glass of wine (no driving!), have a cup of this “…fundamental adult beverage; an alternative to coffee or tea that [reveals] both…natural flavors of the cocoa bean…”

We’ve become overloaded on coffee, caffeinated beverages, alcohol and drugs, including anti-depressants. Brewed chocolate is a healthy alternative. When people discover the effects of brewed chocolate, they simply realize that they are feeling better; More positive.

-Rob Polevoi, CEO Cabaret Foods

When you look at the little jar the chocolate is packaged in, you wonder how in the world this sticky syrup could possibly come from the chocolate you encounter at the store. The process is quite similar to brewing the beans for a pot of coffee…

We brew whole raw cacao beans in water to extract the flavor and essence. Much the same as coffee is brewed from coffee beans — except it takes a lot longer and it takes a lot a beans. A full pound of whole raw cacao for every jar.

Then we sweeten this wonderful liquid with organic evaporated cane juice and reduce it into concentrated syrup. You stir this syrup into hot water - by the teaspoon - to instantly create a small cup of brewed chocolate.

The taste, however, isn’t your everyday cup of coffee or even cocoa. When mixed with hot water, the taste and texture is that of a tea / coffee combination, with just the tiniest hint of chocolate. When mixed with milk, however, the texture becomes thick and creamy and tastes more like hot chocolate only richer…much, much richer - without being overly sweet. But there’s something more to it than that - a taste I can’t quite put my finger on, but a taste I want to indulge in every day.

While coffee may give you the jitters after a few cups and wine makes you want to take a nap, Brewed Chocolate makes some feel energetic and some calm..while others feel nothing besides a rich liquid rolling down their throats. For my husband, he felt nothing…he just enjoyed his drink. For me, however, I thought I wasn’t affected by it at first…until, for three nights in a row, I couldn’t get to sleep for hours…the same three nights I’d had a big mug of the brewed chocolate before bed. I wasn’t on edge, I wasn’t nervous…nothing like what coffee can do to me…I just couldn’t fall asleep.

So maybe this can replace my coffee, especially if I won’t get any of those nasty side effects. I could drink it every morning. Except, that is, for the price… for $14.95 you receive a 6 fl. oz jar. I spend that much or less on a pound of whole coffee beans from Peets and I get a lot more cups out of it. With Brewed Chocolate, you will need one teaspoon per 4 ounces of water or milk, but if you’re like me, my coffee mugs are closer to 24 oz., and that means that little jar won’t last very long at my house.

But, I have to say, that little jar will still be welcome here. Maybe I’ll just save it for special moments - like beautiful mornings having breakfast on the porch as the sun rises.