at Wed, 19 Jan 2005 20:31:48 GMT in <1106166708.725922.168580
@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>, ) wrote :

>If you haven't tried Chantico. I recommend it highly. But at $2.65 for
>6 ounces it's a little pricey. Has anyone come up with a home-brew
>recipe ? Thanks in advance

I tried it today. IMHO Chantico is nothing more than good (if sweet) hot
chocolate. The level of strength is basically, what "ordinary" hot
chocolate should be like from the outset. What seems to pass for hot
chocolate (and I think it's better to call it hot cocoa) most of the time
is really hot milk with the barest hint of cocoa flavour. The cocoa is an
accent, not the primary flavour. At least Chantico tastes more of chocolate
than of milk.

As to how to duplicate it, that's actually pretty easy. It's pretty close
to my typical camping hot cocoa - which is 3 tbsp cocoa, 1 tbsp sugar, 1
cup hot milk. Chantico itself though, is a true hot chocolate - made with
chocolate and not cocoa alone. What you'll need for it is shaved or grated
chocolate. You can make that easily enough yourself by grating bittersweet
chocolate from a bloc. Several manufacturers also offer grated chocolate,
so you needn't go to the trouble if you don't feel like it. Cuba Venchi's
Chococaviar 90% is perhaps the most high-test. Dolfin's 77% is very good,
very strong, and well-shaved. Domori offers chocolate in stick form which
works almost as well, although at 65%, it's not at intense.

Anyway, what you do is use 4 oz. chocolate per cup of milk. Heat the milk
to scalding, then pour over the shaved chocolate and stir vigorously. It
works even better, and is richer, if you use half and half. If you want
really high-test stuff, you can use 8 oz. chocolate per cup of milk.
Chantico itself is a 6 oz drink, meaning that you should use 2 oz.
chocolate and 1/2 cup of milk.

BTW, it's possible to increase the chocolate experience to even greater
intensities. Liquid ganache - grated chocolate mixed with hot cream at 1:1
ratio, is hyperrich. Beyond that, pure melted chocolate offers an
experience that has to be tried to be appreciated. And you can go all the
way with melted Noir Infini (use an espresso-demitasse size portion) for
the ultimate chocolate sensation.


--
Alex Rast

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