The perfect cup of hot chocolate should comprise of these components: A nice layer of chocolate with every sip, a smooth base, finishing with a lingering warmth from the drink itself.
Method 1: Using chocolate powder
Artisan Roast Coffee is lauded for their coffee, but the brand has ventured into producing their own chocolate, which they use to make chocolate bars and hearty cups of hot chocolate served at the café. Seniman Kakao is a Malaysian craft chocolate company that uses high quality Malaysian cacao to make chocolates, both for eating and drinking. Just like their coffee beans, they take their chocolate seriously too. The cacao beans are handpicked and graded to remove the ‘bad bits’, roasted to the ideal temperature (this brings out the right amount of natural sweetness), tempered, and then ready to serve. The product stays true to their motto of ‘Honest Chocolate, No Nasties’ by utilising only two ingredients: cacao and a little bit of cane sugar. The drinking chocolate is made with the same ingredients as the bars except that it’s blended into powder form.
Being the chocolate experts that they are, they share how to make the best cup of hot chocolate at home.
Milk chocolate:
(Recipe: 28g chocolate powder + 220g of hot milk)
Milk should be warmed to 70°C
• 28g of chocolate powder.
• Add 30g of hot milk, just enough to cover the chocolate powder. Stir well to blend the chocolate powder into a thick, smooth texture.
• Continue to add 30g of hot milk at a time and stir until the chocolate is evenly dissolved into your perfect drinking chocolate.
• For the perfect ratio of drinking chocolate, don’t add more than 220g of hot milk.
Pure hot chocolate:
(Recipe: 28g chocolate powder + 90g hot water)
• 28g of chocolate powder.
• Add 10g of hot water, just enough to cover the chocolate powder. Stir well to blend the chocolate powder into a thick, smooth texture.
• Continue to add 20g of hot water at a time and stir until the chocolate is evenly dissolved into your perfect drinking chocolate.
• For the perfect ratio of drinking chocolate, don’t add more than 90g of water.
Extra: If you need a bit of sugar, ½ a teaspoon of brown sugar is enough.
Tip: You need to add the liquids in gradually to ensure the chocolate doesn’t ‘seize’ (harden).
Alternatively, if you’re looking for more flavour in your cup, Artisan Roast Coffee offers two variations of their drinking chocolate: chilli chocolate and mint chocolate. The chocolate bars are sold at the café too and are best consumed at room temperature. If they’re eaten right out of the fridge, you’ll miss out on the best textures and aromas – and that would be an insult to the chocolate.
Artisan Roast Coffee
4, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur
RM9 (pure)/RM11 (milk)
Method 2: Using chocolate bars or buttons
Ning-Geng Ong, owner of Chocolate Concierge shares his recipe to make thick and creamy hot chocolate at home, using simple household tools. Chocolate Concierge’s single origin chocolates are made from fresh cocoa cultivated by the Orang Asli in Pahang. Ning recommends these flavours that are best in hot chocolate:
Temuan 70% Pahang Origin Bar
Limited Edition Forest Floor 70% Pahang Origin Bar
Semai 70% Pahang Origin Bar
Maracaibo 65% Venezuelan Origin Buttons
Maracaibo 88% Venezuelan Origin Buttons
Costa Rica 70% buttons
The tools you will need are a French Press, microwave, a mug and a spoon.
Pure hot chocolate:
(Recipe: 70g 70% dark chocolate bars + 125ml milk)
• Pour milk into glass and heat for 1 minute in a microwave.
• Pour the heated milk into a French Press and add the chocolate buttons/bars.
• Froth the milk until all the chocolate is melted and combined with the milk.
• Pour into a mug.
Smokey hot chocolate:
Same ingredients as above.
• Add wood chips smoke into an empty cup, cover it.
• Make the hot chocolate following the instructions above
• Pour into the smoked cup when it’s ready to serve.
Video was shot at The Townsmen
Chocolate Concierge
Lot No. G1, Ground Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre, 285, Jalan Maarof
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia