It is that time of year where it is nice to sit back, relax and have a nice cup of hot chocolate. We’re not picky at the office about the type or brand, but we do like to experiment. Sometimes we put a pinch of salt in with the power, other times we go more exotic and mix-in some chilli powder or vanilla extract. All these little experiments result in some interesting flavours.
One idea we had for all these hot chocolate blends was to create a system, similar to a tea bag, but for hot chocolate. We could have pre-mixed batches which you simply select, drop into your cup and add hot water. We could have jars with the pre-mixed powders all ready to go, but we wanted to experiment more for situation when we’re out of the office travelling.
Loose tea is very different than chocolate powered. Tea leaves are not to be eaten, they need to steep in the hot water to release the flavours, yet stay confined either in their tea bag or container or strained off before drinking. Our chocolate power mix was just the opposite, we wanted it to be mixed in with the liquid so trying to keep it in a bag was the opposite goal. For us, the concept of a bag was there only as a container for pre-measured portions.
What if we could find something like a tea bag that would completely dissolve when it came in contact with water?
Such a thing exists! It was the simplest way to deliver medicine before capsules or compressed pills. The chemist would measure out the correct amount of powdered medication and place it onto this dissolvable paper. The paper would wrap-up the powder to either be eaten whole or placed in water and drunk.
With the rice paper and our pre-mixed chocolate powder and spices we set out to make some single serving chocolate teabags.
With a small paintbrush and a glass of water, we started to make something that could only be described as paper ravioli shells or paper dumplings. Folding the circular rice paper in half, we made a semi-circle and wet 75% of the edge to form a container.
After drying for a few minutes we poured in a few tea-spoons of powder. This could be cocao, coffee or anything else that will dissolve in liquid.
Then with the wet paintbrush sealed-up the remaining 25% of the rice paper. Now we had a completely self-contained, single serving of specially concocted hot chocolate ready for some hot water.
We made a handful to test both the flavour and quantity. When you are ready to use them, simply drop one or two into your cup and pour in boiling water.
The downside of using a material that dissolves in water is that you need to be very careful how you store and handle them. The moisture from your fingers is enough to start to melt the rice paper and make it sticky. Once you have a breach in the hull, you’re done for! All the powder can escape through the hole.
We’ll get you started with one of our favorite recipes: rip, mix, boil.
Hot Chocolate Recipe
| Ingredience | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Powdered Sugar | 2 Cups |
| Cocao Powder | 1 Cup |
| Dry Milk Powder | 2.5 Cups |
| Salt | 1 teaspoon |
| Cornstarch | 2 teaspoons |
| Cayenne Pepper | 1 pinch |