Old-Time Chocolate Tea

I’d be lying if I said I have a traditional fall recipe that I make every year during the season. I grew up in a country where it felt like summer all year round, and the leaves didn’t become more visually appealing during autumn for the perfect photo backdrop.

We did, however, have a distinct dry and wet season with my favourite being the latter. As a pluviophile, I welcomed and still do, every opportunity to experience rain, except during hurricanes. Our wet season in the Caribbean coincides with the hurricane season and typically ranges from May or June to November or December. As you may have already guessed, the dry season occurs during the remaining months. During the wet season, it was common practice for me to sit by my window or door and watch the rain while sipping some chocolate tea. This is what comfort looked like to me.

Years ago, when I relocated to North America, all of that changed. No longer did I have two seasons to consider as that doubled to four with the warmest season being colder than the tropical climate I left behind. I moved from having weather like this in October:

To having weather like this:

The ridiculously cold temperatures made me miserable. I was constantly told to be grateful because my current city has the mildest climate in the country. I know I am fortunate in the sense that other provinces experience temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius or even lower. However, appreciating 3 degrees Celsius weather was not an easy thing for a Caribbean native like me to do. I found it hard to adjust to my new normal, and I knew I needed something to help me cope. Comfort food. In this case, a hot cup of Jamaican chocolate tea made from handmade Jamaican chocolate balls.

How the chocolate are balls made

When I was a child, my grandmother often made chocolate tea from scratch for my cousins and me at breakfast time. I'd be in awe just watching the way she skillfully created these gems and was grateful for all the knowledge she proudly shared with us. May her talented soul sleep in peace. She may no longer be with us physically, but her teachings and traditions live on.

Jamaican chocolate balls are made from beans which are extracted from the cacao fruit. These beans or seeds are then placed in the sun for a week, not only to enhance the flavour but also reduce the moisture. The beans are then roasted, and the dried pulp or trash is removed from the beans and discarded. A mortar and pestle are used to grind the roasted beans along with ground cinnamon and nutmeg into a thick and moist paste. The mixture is divided and rolled into balls or sticks and placed on a sheet to dry. The balls/sticks are ready to be used once they have hardened. Trust me, the powdered stuff that you get in packets or cans in the supermarket is nothing in comparison to the rich and aromatic drink that these raw chocolate balls yield.

Do you like hot chocolate?

If you answered yes, then you’re in for quite a treat as this hot beverage is similar to hot chocolate but has even more soul! I should add that even though it is called chocolate tea, this delicious combination of chocolate and spices isn't actually tea. It is called tea because, in some areas of the Caribbean, it is customary for persons to refer to all hot morning beverages as tea.

Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 chocolate ball or 2 chocolate sticks

4 cups of water

1/4 cup condensed milk

3 tbsp brown sugar

3 cinnamon leaves or two cinnamon sticks

1/4 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg

1 pinch of salt

Method

Grate the chocolate ball or sticks into a bowl.

Add four cups of water and the cinnamon leaves or sticks to a saucepan and bring to a boil on high heat.

Add the grated nutmeg and chocolate, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for ten minutes.

Remove the cinnamon leaves or sticks and add salt to the mix.

Sweeten with condensed milk and sugar to taste.

Strain the tea into four mugs and serve!

CAUTION: Be careful when drinking this tea as it will be scalding due to the layer of oil on the surface.

Notes

1. If you have bread or crackers handy, you can dip it in the tea before eating it. My brother, grandfather and many others do this, and they swear by it. It is a no for me though because I prefer my food not to be soggy.

2.You can find the chocolate balls on Etsy. A quick Google search will show this item being sold on other online retail sites, but I LOVE handmade products, so Etsy is my preference.

As I am creating new traditions in the country I now live in, I'd have to say that chocolate tea is the closest thing I have to a 'fall treat'. Since chocolate balls or cacao fruit aren't readily available in my city, I try to purchase the former online during the summer, so it arrives in time for the subsequent season. However, there have been a few years where I've had to resort to hot chocolate powders because I could not find any reasonably priced chocolate balls available online.

Like many of the traditional foods from my culture, chocolate tea is a core part of my childhood memories, and I never hesitate to share it with others. If you were closeby, I'd surely offer you a cup, but a recipe will have to suffice for now!