Even though I was extremely young at the time, I do remember going to Guys Hill, Jamaica with my grandma. That is the city/origin of my maternal side of the family. I remember going in the back of the yard. It seemed to be loaded with cocoa trees. The memory is sort of vague, I was probably about 8 or 9 years old. But I do remember these pods. The seeds inside were so sweet. I guess those were the cocoa pods used to make chocolate. Now that I am reminiscing, I should take a trip back to that yard in Guys Hill, whenever I go back to Jamaica.
My favorite chocolate drink was Milo. On most occasions, whenever it wasn’t some kind of bush/herbal tea, Milo was the hot beverage of choice. My grandma would give us (my cousins and I) a cup of Milo was usually the convenient choice. My grandma would also make hot chocolate from these chocolate balls from scratch. It was a huge pot of hot chocolate. Something you could probably feed the entire neighborhood with. It was warm and absolutely d’luscious.
As I got older, I could’ve sworn that the hot chocolate mixes in the packets were the best. Well…I’m sorry to bust your bubble, but…those packets aren’t the best. They are convenient, but preparing your own meals from scratch is just so much more rewarding. I have limited the use of some processed foods and the hot chocolate/coco mix packets are one of those items that I no longer purchase. I am a tea person. Give me any kind of herb, spice or leaf and I will steep some tea. I love teas!
Well, my cousin from Jamaica recently visited the USA and brought me these chocolate balls. I knew exactly what to do with them. Matter of fact, I will be using them to prepare more than one culinary masterpiece. However the first artifact is this soul quenching, d’luscious cinnamon flavored hot chocolate. It’s fairly easy to prepare. One chocolate ball goes a long way. You can begin with a grater. It’s a great work out for your arms anyway. This grated chocolate is so precious to me, it’s like treasure. It puts me in the mode of an overly excited pirate on a ship, who has just discovered an island or any dry land for that matter.
My grandmother was so impatient as this grounded chocolate melted into the pot of boiling water, with the cinnamon sticks. She did what she normally does when she really wants something: Stand in the kitchen and delegate as if I don’t know what I’m doing. I served her the first cup. After all, she is Royalty and needs to be treated as such. I asked, “Mama, how does it taste?” She replied, “It taste good Denise.”