Wake Me Up Before Your Kokoa

Hands up, I’m a food snob.

I’m that person who walks into a café and asks:

“Do you have almond milk?”

“Could I have my brownie warmed up a little bit?”

“What kind of chocolate powder do you use?”

Okay, maybe it’s annoying to some people. But if you deliver your question with a smile and a friendly face, the staff simply can’t help but fall for your loveable charm.

There’s a difference between asking and demanding.

If they don’t have it, no big deal, it’s not the end of the world and there are other things on the menu. If they do, great—you don’t ask, you don’t get.

For example, on one of these occasions, I was in the newly-opened vegetarian on-campus café, Greenhouse. I had already gauged the staff as friendly and accommodating, since we happily chatted away about the delights of hand-roasted fresh coffee, coconut porridge and herbal tea. I knew they wouldn’t mind me inquiring about the source of their hot chocolate.

Fortunately for my daily chocolate intake (for the next year at least), Greenhouse now stock the award-winning brand of Kokoa Collection: A real hot chocolate, delicately made with cocoa beans from around the world.

This is not powder, but little tablets of actual chocolate that are then swirled into hot milk and frothed in the machine for extra smooth whippedness.

You can even have it as a mocha for a double energy boost and serotonin release.

Actually, I recently discovered that chocolate contains the chemical ‘theobromine’, which is a natural bitter alkaloid found in the cacao plant. It’s a slow release heart stimulant that’s available in high percentage chocolate bars, which enables you to reap the pharmaceutical rewards without that sugar-anxiety low that comes from highly-processed branded chocolate.

Theodore is also a brother of mine, but that’s irrelevant to the review.

High percentage is best, with a combination of the 82% Madagascan extra dark and 70% Ecuadorian my favourite. Music student and devout chocolate enthusiast Samantha Mayes describes the Venezuelan 58% milk as ‘heaven in a teacup’. It’s also available in Ivory Coast White if you’re less concerned about the health benefits. What more do you really want?

Kokoa Collection

Available on-campus at Greenhouse Cafe, George Kenyon Hall

http://www.kokoacollection.co.uk/