Anvan wrote:Espresso machines provide a huge advantage that eliminates the need for bottled fake-food glop: the controllable and unfocused heat with built-in agitation available from a steam wand. This enables the use of real chocolate starting in solid form. You can melt solid chocolate in a warming liquid with a minimum of problems, but don't ever try the opposite - adding liquid to melted chocolate - unless you're in the mood for a a grainy glob of separated goo.

Chocolate conveniently melts at the same temperature where you stop stretching the milk in the pitcher, but just as important it doesn't burn until it reaches a higher temperature than the 150-155 degrees at which you're done. .

I tried doing this by breaking part of a bar of green & blacks 70% dark chocolate into chunks and adding them solid into my steaming pitcher with cold milk then attempted to steam normally with my pre-millienium europiccola. What I ended up with was lightly chocolate flavoured steamed milk and a big glob of melted chocolate on the bottom of my steam pitcher :s

Maybe I just need to break the chocolate into smaller pieces? By grating it maybe?

I had good results with Dagoba's organic dark chocolate syrup. If I remember right, the ingredients were cocoa powder, cane juice, water and carob bean gum.

entropyembrace wrote:I tried doing this by breaking part of a bar of green & blacks 70% dark chocolate into chunks and adding them solid into my steaming pitcher with cold milk then attempted to steam normally with my pre-millienium europiccola. What I ended up with was lightly chocolate flavoured steamed milk and a big glob of melted chocolate on the bottom of my steam pitcher :s

Maybe I just need to break the chocolate into smaller pieces? By grating it maybe?

I'm sorry you had that problem. I'm thinking back to the last time I tried this a couple years ago, and it was also with a P-M LP. I think I broke up the pieces to pretty small chunks; not shaved, but pea-sized perhaps. The LP won't heat a pitcher of milk suddenly - which you want to avoid anyway so that's a good thing - so the trick would be to make sure the chocolate bits are small enough for all of them to melt completely during the heating process. Any chocolate that fails to melt at that time is likely to melt shortly afterwards into the pool you mention at the bottom of the pitcher and may be difficult or impossible to integrate once that happens.

Making a slurry with shaved chocolate could well ensure success, although I haven't done this myself, at least not with a steam wand. That's a standard method, though, used for all manner of chocolate custards, gelatos and such.

I usually steam milk, then stir Ghiradelli's sweet ground chocolate into it, along with a shot or two of espresso.

I like Scharffen Berger's stuff (despite their having been acquired by Hershey), and I've made some incredibly devilish chocolate drinks with it, including an attempt at the reproduction of the the coronary-in-a-cup of *$'s Chantico.

I do like dark hot chocolate with cinnamon and cayenne in it.

Ground cocoa works best if you make a syrup with it before using. You can dissolve it in water from the hot water tap of your machine, or in hot water from any other source. Use as little water as it takes to get a smooth syrup.

You can also make a syrup with just about any chocolate -- as expensive or as Trader Joe's as you like -- by breaking the chocolate into smallish pieces, and melting them in a small amount of water in the microwave or over a double boiler. Add sugar, simple syrup, honey, or agave syrup as you like; along with more hot water as necessary to achieve the desired consistency (just thin enough not to seize when held). Vanilla is a nearly mandatory component of a good chocolate syrup.

I like using Ghirardelli Sweetened Ground Chocolate and Cocoa quite a bit for its quality and convenience and always have a can in the cabinet under the espresso machine for mocha-latte and for frothed hot chocolate.

BDL

The best mochas I ever had were at Lindt Cafe when I lived in Sydney. They would steam a "healthy" portion of Lindt chocolate shavings (your choice of milk, dark, or white) in milk and combine with espresso. I say combine because I don't know if it was poured into the espresso or vice-versa. It was like drinking liquid Lindt chocolate. I believe chocolate shavings are used instead of chunks, pieces, etc. because they would melt quickly and uniformly, but I could be wrong.

I make hot chocolate by heating 1/8-1/4c water in the microwave with a tablespoon of turbinado sugar for 20-30s, then stir to disolve all the sugar, and add 1-1.5 tablespoons of dagoba cocoa powder (I don't like dutch processed flavor). This creates a slurry base, into which I then pour steamed milk (whole or half-n-half) to make chocolate-milk art in a 5oz cappuccino cup Grate some cinnamon, drop some marshmallows on top, or center quality milk-chocolate shavings...

The hot chocolate bit is off topic, however, the slurry made seems to be similar to what you all are talking about... ooo can't wait to try it I might add the milk to it and try steaming that. With or without sugar? Hmmm... Probably could use pieces of chocolate and melt those, but I think the cocoa powder is easier.

I spent considerable time developing our chocolate sauce including a lot of customer blind tastings. Ended up going with a blend of cocoa powders. I've been asked for the recipe numerous times but this is the first time I've given it out. Don't know why decided to divulge it!

Recipe (makes 7 12oz squeeze bottles):

2lb cocoa powder, 1lb each Penzeys (not Dutch) and Hersheys (not their Special Dark, it's crap)
2.5lb cane sugar
1/2t sea salt
2oz vanilla extract
9g soy lethicin
8c off boil water

Whisk until smooth, fill bottles, keep refrigerated until use. Turns mostly solid cooled, must be heated for use. Bottle keeps fine 3 or 4 days on top Linea no problem.

FWIW our taste test consensus Ghirardeli came in almost dead last every time, up front ok but has a metallic after taste. Bernard Calebaut cocoa powder out of Canada was our first choice, Penzeys second, but couldn't get it in the US in quantities we need. Hersheys regular cocoa powder was a surprise. Not enough complexity by itself, but mixed with Penzeys works great.

Sometimes I steam two tablespoons of Nutella with milk (quick). But I prefer to make hot chocolate on its own. I usually add a little of dissolved cornstarch to thicken it (for dunking). I use chop semisweet chocolate.