Chocolate tea recipe

Chocolate tea or cocoa tea is a delicious brewed hot drink made of ground cocoa beans that are boiled together with water and spices into the warming cocoa tea drink. 

If you have ever been to the Caribbean, you have come across a Cocoa tea made on various Caribbean islands as a traditional breakfast drink. If you haven’t,  here are the reasons and an easy way to make a potent and nutritious cocoa tea drink at home.

Even though it’s called tea, it’s technically not tea. But not even hot chocolate! This unique chocolate tea recipe will surprise you with its deep chocolate flavor and medicinal benefits. 

Cocoa tea is made of cacao beans from the tree Theobroma cacao. The same beans we used in this chocolate extract recipe. While some producers use the term “cocoa” for others, it is “cacao” Both speak about the same products made of Theobroma cacao.

 We can therefore call this drink cacao tea or cocoa tea. 

Before we dive deep into a chocolate tea recipe let’s clarify what is cocoa tea and, why it is not hot chocolate and why it is not coca tea.

Hot cocoa vs hot chocolate

Cocoa tea or cacao tea is made from fresh cocoa beans that are roasted, crushed, and boiled together with spices to make a delicious warming drink thus cocoa tea is made of 100 % pure cocoa. The traditional spices include nutmeg, cinnamon, or bay leaves.

Hot chocolate, on the other hand, is made from ground chocolate that is chopped and ground into a powder (this powder contains cocoa beans, cocoa butter, and usually sweetener) that is mixed with hot milk to make a smooth and creamy hot chocolate. 

Cocoa tea vs coca tea

While cocoa tea is made of cocoa beans, coca tea used coca leaves to get its power.

Benefits of drinking cocoa tea

Known as a Mayan super drink, cocoa tea was meant to give special power to ancient kings. Rich in antioxidants, cocoa tea lowers blood pressure and keeps cholesterol levels low. 

This research suggests that drinking cocoa may protect men’s blood vessels against the harmful effects of stress. In particular, if one drinks cocoa tea hours before an event that is potentially stressful it may improve blood flow and lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Another study that was conducted with indigenous peoples living off the coast of Panama, found higher levels of antioxidants in their urine. These people are regular consumers of cocoa tea and researchers linked these higher antioxidant levels with lower rates of diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases in this area. 

Chocolate tea recipe

If you live in the Caribbean you probably start with picking cocoa beans from the cocoa tree. Then you will roast them in the sun for about a week to dry and intensify in flavor. You ground them, spice them and shape them into balls or sticks. The balls you later grate into a powder that you use to make your best chocolate tea. 

If you live outside of the Caribbean, you may be wondering where you can buy cocoa sticks or balls to make your own cocoa tea. I bought mine here.

Cocoa sticks or balls are already infused with spices so all you need to do is to grate off a little bit and add it to boiling water or milk (the local people prefer milk) and you’ve got your warm cup of cocoa tea drink.

cacao nibs tea recipe

Another option is to make this warming cup of delicious cocoa tea from cocoa nibs. They are small pieces of crushed cocoa beans that are bitter with chocolatey flavor.

Some cocoa nibs are roasted while others are unroasted, also called raw cacao nibs.

First step

Roast unroasted cocoa nibs (If you happen to have roasted, you can skip this step)

Spread the cacao nibs in one layer on parchment paper and place them in the oven that has been preheated to 150 C (300 F). I left them there for 10 minutes and already smelled a beautiful chocolate flavor. Make sure you don’t burn them, I would not leave them longer than 12 minutes.

I also made a cocoa tea from unroasted cocoa nibs and it was delicious, the choice is yours.  

Second step

Prepare the spices

Depending on your taste some people don’t even use any spices and just enjoy the chocolate flavor of this healthy chocolate tea. The traditional cocoa tea from the Caribbean usually contains spices like bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and nutmeg.

For 2 cups of chocolate tea I used the following spices:

1 Cinnamon stick

1/2 vanilla bean

3 cardamon seeds

1 star anise

3 cloves

Third step

Add spices of your choice into a pot with 2 cups of water 

Bring it to boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. 

Using similar spicies, you can also make this dirty chai latte.

Fourth step

Add cocoa nibs and simmer for another 10 minutes

Fifth step

Stir milk or almond milk (if you prefer vegan version) into the cocoa tea. Some people prefer condensed milk or cream. 

Sixth step

Add a sweetener of your choice. I didn’t use any as the chocolate flavor with spices tasted really good. But if you prefer sweet tea add raw sugar, honey or maple syrup

Seventh step

Strain the cocoa tea with a small sieve before you’re serving the tea to get rid of the grit.

The combination of spices makes this chocolate tea a great Christmas drink for a cold winter evening when one wants to smell vanilla and cinnamon and enjoy the rich taste of flavors. Enjoy it with this vanilla muffin or cinnamon tea cake. Be careful though as this tasty warming cocoa tea contains the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. 

It pairs well with any sweet cookies, lavender biscuits or chocolate covered cashews.

If you don’t like drinking it, Infuse your bathwater with this chocolate tea pamper your skin and relaxes your mind.