Daily Movement

Here’s another recipe that is close to my favorite with a spiciness of 3 and sweetness of 3:

• 1 cup milk, 2% fat
• 30 grams 99% Cacao Scharffenberger Chocolate
• 15 grams or 1/16 cup confectioners sugar (white granulated, not powdered)
• 1/4 teaspoon and 1/16 teaspoon cardamom or cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

I cut back no chocolate and sugar from version 1 of the recipe.

Directions:

1. Heat milk gently, at no point going higher than 140 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Add chocolate, sugar, cardamom and chili powder.
3. wait until partly melted and then periodically mix for 1/4 second pulses with a hand blender until chocolate all dissolved.
4. Serve at 130.

The use of hand blender has side effect of frothing the milk which makes it have a richer taste, similar to steaming of the milk.

Here’s a recipe that is close to my favorite with a spiciness of 3 and sweetness of 3:

It is a slight variation of the Chili Hot Chocolate recipe here using less sugar I think.

• 1 cup milk, 2% fat
• 45 grams 99% Cacao Scharffenberger Chocolate
• 20 grams or 1/16 cup confectioners sugar (white granulated, not powdered)
• 1/4 teaspoon and 1/16 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

I originally planned to use as much as 3/16 cup of sugar but i kept adding and mixing until the sweetness was right and I had only used about 1/16 cup.

Directions:

1. Heat milk gently, at no point going higher than 140 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Add chocolate. wait until partly melted and then periodically mix for 1 second with a hand blender.
3. Add cinnamon and chili powder and mix.
4. Add sugar to taste.
5. Serve at 130.

The use of hand blender has side effect of frothing the milk which makes it have a richer taste, similar to steaming of the milk.

I was somewhat surprised at the amount of chocolate required to flavor 1 cup of milk. 1.6 ounces (45g) of chocolate looks like a lot, but I suppose that is why the flavor is so rich.

Mocafe Mexican spiced chocolate, Azteca D’oro 1519

Dagoba Organic Xocolatl Hot Chocolate

• Preparation: 8 ounces 2% milk, 3 tablespoons powder, heated to 140 degrees, residual heat to 160 degrees.
• Sweetness: 2
• Spiciness: 5
• Ingredients: organic evaporated cane juice, organic cacao powder, organic unsweetened chocolate, chiles, cinnamon
• Tasting notes:

  The spiciness surprised me! I would prefer more sweetness and less spiciness. This just goes to show that spiciness and sweetness are personal preferences.

Green & Blacks, Organic Maya Gold

• Preparation: 9 ounces 2% milk, 4 teaspoons powder, heated to 140 degrees, residual heat to 170 degrees.
• Sweetness: 2.5
• Spiciness: 1
• Ingredients: Organic raw cane sugar, Organic fat reduced cocoa powder (31%), Organic chocolate powder (15%), Organic cocoa liquor, Organic cocoa butter, organic powdered orange peel (0.7%), natural orange flavoring (0.7%), organic ground cinnamon (0.1%), organic ground nutmeg (0.1%), organic black pepper (0.09%)
• Tasting notes:

  It is more of essence of spices and flavors rather than a strong mix of spices. The lack of sweetness makes it a more savory drink. I would prefer more sweetness, and would have to do a side by side taste with the Winter Sippers, but I think the sweetness is even slightly less.

I rate the hot chocolate based on two factors: sweetness and spice on a scale of 1-5, 3 being the preferred value for me. E.g. a sweetness of 5 is more sweet than i would like it, sweetness of 1 is more bitter, and 3 is just right.

Of course, both sweetness and spice are individual preferences, but I think the relative comparisons are accurate. If you try one particular chocolate and are looking for something spicier or less sweet, you’ll know how the other chocolate drinks compare.

Coupa Cafe spiced hot chocolate — actually Spicy Maya produced by Chuao

• Preparation: it varies.
• sweetness: 4
• spice: 3
• tasting notes:

  over a number of different days, i’ve had the sweetness be slightly sweeter than desired (4) to very sweet (5) — think those carnation instant chocolate packets where you just add hot water. However even on the bad days, the spiciness rescues the chocolate for me.

The Spice Hunter’s Winter Sippers Spiced Cioccolata

• Preparation: 6 oz cold 2% milk, 3 tablespoons powder, heated to 140 degrees, reaching 160 degrees with residual heat, i.e. milk was not scalded in this experiment.
• sweetness: 3
• spice: 2
• ingredients: sugar, cocoa processed with potassium carbonate, chocolate, corn starch, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, red pepper
• tasting notes:

  sweetness is right on for me. it degree of sweetness makes it more of a savory drink than as a dessert.

Starbuck’s Chantico

• sweetness: 5
• spice: 0
• tasting notes:

  if i can remember back when, Chantico was only served in at most 6 ounce cups and it was so thick that you could only stand 6 ounces at a time. In its form back then, it was basically a 390 calorie melted candy bar. This drink had potential with tuning, but unfortunately it didn’t evolve enough to survive. I ordered the drink once, maybe twice at most and then moved on from that experience. Origins of word Chantico, and a home made recipe for Chantico if you want to re-experience one.

Clean restaurants are all alike; Every dirty restaurant is dirty in its own way.

Shalimar, Fremont, CA My rating: 4 out of 5 This is the sister store to the ones in San Francisco. They are an excellent value. You can easily feed two people for $16. I haven’t eaten their more expensive dishes.

So you say there’s no such thing as a free coffee? Here’s such a thing:

  From:   Harkins, Jr., Robert M.
  To:     address removed to protect the innocent
  Subject:        Invitation - Grand Opening of Coffee to the People

My family is opening a new coffeehouse called Coffee to the People at 1206 Masonic Ave (& Haight St.) in the Haight-Ashbury. The grand opening runs July 23 - July 31. You are invited. This e-mail serves as a coupon for one free 12 oz. coffee. Just print it out and bring it to the celebration.

We are trying to get the word out around town, so please feel free to forward this message to whomever you think might be interested. The coupon is good for anyone who brings it in. We’re prepared to give away a lot of free coffee, so don’t worry about distributing it too liberally. Thanks.

More about the coffeehouse: Coffee to the People is bringing power to the people through coffee, serving only the highest quality organic coffees and teas. All of the coffee is fair trade certified, and a portion of the profits go to charities benefiting the environment and social and economic equality. The coffeehouse has free wireless Internet access, its own living room, and a library of interesting books to peruse.

(About this e-mail as a coupon: Offer expires 7/31/05. Limit one per person. Not good with any other offer.)

I’ve become addicted to Tapioca Express faster than Starbucks. Their slogan, which is also emblazened on their cup, “Suddenly, I want more” is forboding of what will happen to you after a couple of weeks. Their FAQ can’t really explain why I would want more.

I cannot explain the reason for my repeated cravings other than it is something new and different than cafe mocha, caramel apple cider, or chai latte. At least, I have some variety in my addictions now.

One big issue which limits me to 5 drinks a week (one after work) instead of 10 (one before work and one after) is the lack of stores in San Francisco downtown SOMA/financial district area.