CHOCOLATE - Blog - Barista Exchange

Recipe: Crio Brü Mexican Mocha

Posted by Terri Voltz on May 5, 2012 at 4:29am

Here is a delicious chocolaty recipe for an iced Mexican mocha. This is a variation of a popular recipe served at my coffee shop. The original recipe was a hot drink which combined espresso, chocolate sauce, milk and spices. Some customers liked this drink so much, it became their regular, and they continued ordering it through the summer as an iced drink.

I have created a similar recipe that substitutes the espresso and chocolate sauce with Crio Brü brewing cocoa.

Ingredients

2/3 Cup Crio Brü Coca River brewing cocoa
1/4 cup Sugar in the Raw
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cinnamon stick
Splash of cream or half-n-half

Directions

Place all ingredients into a 32 ounce French Press.
Fill with boiling water
Stir
Wait 20 minutes, stir again
Press and refrigerate the Crio Brü mixture

Place 8 ounces of the chilled Crio Brü mixture in a shaker
Add a splash of cream
Shake
Pour into ice-filled glass
Top drink with a touch of cinnamon and cayenne pepper
Serve and enjoy! Ole!

Optional: Prepare glass with a combination of crushed chocolate covered Crio Beans and Sugar in the Raw; use ice cubes made with brewed cocoa.

Recipe: Crio Brü Mexican Mocha

Posted by Terri Voltz on May 5, 2012 at 4:14am

I have created a similar recipe that substitutes the espresso and chocolate sauce with Crio Brü brewing cocoa.

Ingredients

2/3 Cup Crio Brü Coca River brewing cocoa
1/4 cup Sugar in the Raw
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cinnamon stick
Splash of cream or half-n-half

Directions

Place all ingredients into a 32 ounce French Press.
Fill with boiling water
Stir
Wait 20 minutes, stir again
Press and refrigerate the Crio Brü mixture

Place 8 ounces of the chilled Crio Brü mixture in a shaker
Add a splash of cream
Shake
Pour into ice-filled glass
Top drink with a touch of cinnamon and cayenne pepper
Serve and enjoy! Ole!

Optional: Prepare glass with a combination of crushed chocolate covered Crio Beans and Sugar in the Raw; use ice cubes made with brewed cocoa.

Remix – the Spanish Coffee

Posted by MOCAFE™ on July 28, 2011 at 3:25am

One of my favorite drinks can be found in Portland, Oregon at a long-lasting bar called Paddy’s. Paddy’s is a gorgeous older bar, with a back bar nearly forty feet wide and sixteen feet tall, replete with two of those rolling library ladders for the bartenders to get to the ultra-premium top shelf. This bar, on St. Patrick’s Day, is jammed beyond belief. The drink there I like is their version of a Spanish Coffee. It’s a showy exhibitionistpreparation, with flaming alcohol, rum and whipped cream.

There’s some argument in Portland that this drink has it’s roots at a venerable local restaurant,Huber’s. Here’s a video I found on Youtube of them making it at Huber’s.

Last night I decided to try remixing this recipe with Mocafe Azteca D’oro 1519 Spiced Ground Chocolate. Oh my lord. It was one of those clear chilly New England summer nights and this drink was a hit with my friends. Simply substitute the coffee in the drink with Mocafe Spiced Ground Chocolate hot chocolate.

If you entertain a lot at home, this drink is sure to be a crowd pleaser at your next party. By the way, I stood in for my Dad years ago, giving my sister away in marriage to one of those Paddy’s Bar ladder-jockey bartenders, in the back dining room. Talk about an Irish wedding!

Jeff from Mocafe

Daughters, Oil Changes and Hot Chocolates

Posted by MOCAFE™ on July 26, 2011 at 3:16am

A few nights ago I was with a good friend, hanging out in the garage, as he taught his young teenage daughter how to change the oil on a SUV. They were both under the truck, poking around, as he explained everything about oil's function in engines.

This time they spent together was pretty awesome to witness. I saw a dad and daughter bonding, as she understood that her dad was giving her life-skills toward independence. More importantly, he was spending time with her.

As they emerged, task completed, I handed both of themsteaming hot chocolates. I then intentionally wandered off for a walk down the street, to give them space to chitchat.

Jeff from Mocafe

Ann Arbor's Chocolate House with a coffee chaser

Posted by Sandee Rodriguez on July 30, 2010 at 12:41am

Don’t let the name throw you off the caffeine track. The Chocolate House is not just driving chocolate, it’s got coffee in the passenger’s seat. Mad mix and brew master Jacob Smith conducts some of the finest coffee’s and chocolate’s in Ann Arbor, Mi. Tucked between a Chinese food resturant and Prickly Pear Southwest café, it is the ONLY standing Victorian house left in downtown.Formerly Carillon Chocolates, The Chocolate House 330 S. Main St. Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 is brewing and melting like mad. Walk through the front door to a kitschy, cozy front room with a rectangle, chocolate brown couch, few tables with random chairs. The walls are a delicious lime green and robins eggs blue with lived-in wood floors and give the room a 1970’s vibe.“I’m not a coffee drinker myself,” Smith said, but since he roasts and grinds it there in the store, “I can only drink the coffee I roast”. Which is understandable with the clean and crisp taste of it The espresso roast is a palette pleasing experience. The slightly fruity bean has a clean taste that doesn’t coat the entire tongue, but hit’s the sides of it. “We like to keep it lighter,“ Smith commented, “the importance is to keep the flavor of the coffee, not the roast.“ He watches numerous people walk by the house through-out the day and has had people comment that they didn’t realize he was there or that they had coffee. He wants people to know what high quality coffee they have without having to add much syrups or things like that.“I won’t sell it unless it’s the best quality it can be,” Smith said. He is a self-taught roast and brew master, yet he sounds like a seasoned one. They roast weekly and grind it per pot to serve. Now that’s fresh!High quality coffee and high quality accents. Hot and cold drinks range from mochas, lattes, coco’s, coffee, blended coffee drinks, tea, Chai, fruit smoothies, Italian sodas, milkshakes, and malts. Along with their phenomenal chocolates there, they also offer Stroh’s ice cream. Fondue is an eye catcher on the menu. It’s available for $7 a person with a minimum of two people to acquire it. The chocolate offered is a smart trip to fall into. Zelda Moran, the chocolatier there, is also a self-taught master. She does the art of the truffles, chocolate covered graham crackers, cream center chocolates, chocolate bark, covered rice crispy treats, toffee, smores confection, covered nuts and fruits. The also offer chocolate candy by the pound. Cheesecakes and layered cakes are also there for the tasting.No room inside to sit? Head through the house to the back door and take a seat out on the patio. Stop in to see what you’ve been missing and it won’t be your only visit. A website is in the works as well. (734) 222-0552.

Raspberry chocolate brownies & coffee

Posted by Dominika on June 19, 2010 at 12:18pm

I came across this chocolate brownies recipe in one of many supermarket magazines diligently collected during my supermarket shopping trips. I’ve never baked chocolate brownies before so I was really looking forward to results anticipating nothing but pure success.
After all the recipe promises a lot. I followed instructions to the dot but the result was far from what I expected. The brownies where too “wet”, they were not even baked properly in the middle despite the fact that I extend the baking time for another few minutes (you know… just in case). Yep, that’s not what I wanted to say the least!

I decided to make some changes. I swapped vegetable oil for butter, reduced the amount of cocoa and plain yogurt, added raspberries and vanilla to improve the taste. I modified baking time a little and after a few attempts I am really happy with the result but all this just shows how careful you have to be with recipes you get from books and magazines.

These yummy chocolate brownies have dry crust, they are not too sweet, have a moist texture, rich cocoa taste and wonderfully refreshing taste of raspberries. Of course, we tested them with coffee too but there is no
ultimate winner I guess. Cappuccino and espresso pair chocolate brownies really well but they would never be my “first” choice. Turkish coffee and cafe latte are much better if you ask me. Turkish coffee just
brilliantly teams with chocolate while cafe latte brings out milkshake like flavor from raspberries. Fantastic, I’m telling you!

Ingredients

Directions

Ingredients

Directions

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.