I mixed equal-ish parts Tien Tsin peppers and Ancho peppers, and have been adding it into my hot cocoa. The cocoa mix is Libby’s riff on Alton Browns recipe from Food Network.
I use a coffee stirrer, the ones that are like two skinny straws, and scoop the pepper blend out of a little cup. I put about three “dips” of chilis into a coffee cup of cocoa. It is really very nice.
Cayenne, eat your heart out. This is FAR better.
I just love to listen to Gov’t Mule, and it’s quite nice to hear them jam with Joe Bonamassa. Here is a little video sample.
My latest quest is to try different kinds of chili peppers in hot chocolate. The reasons are two. One is that I love hot chocolate season and it’s getting cold outside. The other? While I love chili peppers and chocolate, I think that cayenne is too harsh for smooth milky chocolate.
I think that people use cayenne because it’s readily available in huge quantities and it is the pepper they know. I don’t think it’s entirely suitable for hot chocolate though.
I want to come up with two basic varieties of hot chocolate. One will be warm, mellow, smooth and only slightly “bright” from the chilis. The other will have some real heat, but still be a good representative of the smooth hot chocolate experience.
I am starting with the generic “Swiss Miss” non-marshmallow hot chocolate powder mix until it runs out. It is good enough for my purposes. We’ve a very old 3lb can to finish off, and there’s only a few good cups left in it. I may continue with same to be more scientific, or may upgrade to a better drinking cocoa later.
Process is pure hackery. I add “a little” to the cocoa, taste it, then add “a little” more. Basically no measurements at all. I keep going until I can taste it, and then drink the whole cup even though the cocoa will hydrate and “bloom” progressively. Sometimes by the bottom of the cup the pepper sediment is a little unpleasant and the drink is a little on the spicy side. It’s all in the name of recipe development, so it’s all good.
| Chili Variety | Comments |
|---|---|
| Ancho good |
Almost no heat at all. Some sweetness added, a little depth. An alternative to nutmeg I guess. It is a mild, sweet flavor so it sort of blends into the cocoa. You would have to add an awful lot of it to get a noticeable flavor difference. There are better uses for this pepper, I think. |
| Arbol not good |
It has an immediate heat with a lingering back-of-the-throat sharpness. The flavor arbol is nice and quite strong, but to me it doesn’t go so well with chocolate. When you talk about putting chili peppers in chocolate and people say “ewwww”, it is probably an exaggeration of this flavor combo they’re thinking about. Do not want. |
| Cayenne good |
Good heat, good brightness, but I think it ruins the finish. Too harsh of an aftertaste and too much of it in the back of the throat to be really pleasant as a primary hot chocolate chili. It may be okay in small proportions as a “starter”. |
| Guajillo good |
Another mild pepper, so not a lot of heat. Can get a brightness, and the chocolate & guajillo don’t clash like arbol. Back-of-throat burn is not pronounced. Adds a little richness. Could be a contender. |
| Habanero not good |
Not mild at all, with a slow and intense burn profile, it is an unlikely companion for hot drinking cocoa. In fact, it does add a lot of heat and a slow back-burn without changing the flavor. It added no taste, and finished more harshly than cayenne, as you might have expected. |
| Jalapeno good |
There is not a lot of additional flavor, surprisingly, but it definitely brightened the chocolate and gave a slight burn. This seemed to center more on the tongue than the tonsils, which is a good thing. I was very timid adding this in, thinking that it would overpower the cocoa, but it did not. A pleasant experience. I imagine there are plenty of people who will like this as a cocoa booster, though I am a little spoiled with the additional flavor depth provided by the darker, milder peppers. It is good, still. |
| Morita very good |
Moritas are jalapenos, ripened and smoked. They have lots of flavor and smoky aroma, and pretty reasonable heat. They are my favorite condiment peppers. You have to sprinkle them on potatoes or eggs or mix them with ketchup for fries or burgers, or rub them on steaks before broiling, and you will see how great they are. Should you put them in hot chocolate for drinking? Counter to my expectations, they are quite good in hot drinking cocoa. Nice back burn, nothing harsh. I didn’t know about the smokiness would play out, but it is almost like having your cocoa outside by a bonfire. |
| Mulato very good |
Hardly any heat at all, but the mellow richness is there. Mulato has a richness and depth that is unusual, with the finish reminiscent of both coffee and tobacco. It is dark in color, which doesn’t hurt. Takes a fairly large amount of Mulato to make a difference in flavor, which can be spun as “forgiving”. I could tell it was there the third time I added it. Very nice. Mulato could be a primary hot chocolate pepper, or else a mellowing influence on hotter peppers. |
| Pequin very good |
This is a pretty hot chili pepper. It has a more floral, fruity taste than some of the others, and somehow that works right into the hot chocolate experience. It does give a back-of-the-throat burn, but it’s a mellower burn than cayenne. It will be part of my hotter blend, I’m pretty sure. Worth trying. |
| Puya/Pulla very good |
This is a better flavor combination than arbol, and has only a little less heat. It blends well with the cocoa, doesn’t vanish in it like guajillo, and doesn’t finish badly at all. It doesn’t take a ton of Puya to get a nice brightness and touch of heat. It doesn’t add a lot of bottom like Mulato, but this is a very good hot cocoa pepper. |
| Tien Tsin very good |
Oriental chili peppers in hot chocolate? You bet. For such a bright, spicy pepper these make wonderful hot chocolate additives. I put more in than I meant to, and it was still really good. They compliment chocolate very nicely. I may have to make a very fine grind of these and keep them handy. |
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