Ingredients
Cacao
- 1 kgdried cacao beans
- unfermented or fermented
Spices
- 3 tablespoonsground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoonsgrated nutmeg
- 10bay leaves, dried and ground
- 1 tablespoonground cloves, optional
- 1 teaspoonground allspice, optional
To make cocoa tea
- 1cocoa ball, grated
- 500 mlwater
- 200 mlmilk or coconut milk
- sugar to taste
- 1bay leaf
- a strip of cinnamon bark
Equipment
- a heavy dry pan
- a grain mill or mortar
- a grater
Directions
- Heat a heavy dry pan over a medium heat. Add the cacao beans in a single layer. Work in batches rather than crowding the pan. Stir them constantly with a wooden spoon. Never leave them unattended for a moment. Take them off before any go black. Tip the beans out onto a tray. Let them cool for about ten minutes.
- Crack them gently between your fingers. A hairdryer on a cold setting also works. Keep grinding if it is still coarse. It becomes warm as you work, which is normal.
- Add the cinnamon and grated nutmeg. Add the ground dried bay leaf. Add any other spices you are using. Work them through the paste thoroughly. Shaping them takes only a moment. Take a handful of the cocoa paste.
- Roll it into a ball or a short log. Aim for about the size of a golf ball. Set them on a tray to firm up. Some makers roll long thin sticks instead.
- Leave them somewhere cool and dry. They should end up firm enough to grate. Wrap them in paper or foil once hard. Keep them somewhere cool and dark. They keep for six months or more.
- Bring the water to a boil in a pan. Add the bay leaf and cinnamon bark. Grate a cocoa ball into the boiling water. Use about two tablespoons of grated cocoa. Let it boil for about five minutes.
- Stir it well as it boils away. Add the milk or the coconut milk. Add sugar to taste and stir it in. Bring it back up to a gentle simmer. Strain it out into warm thick cups. Serving it is done hot at breakfast.
Technique
- Grenada produces both cacao and nutmeg, which is why nutmeg goes into the balls alongside the cinnamon and bay leaf.
- Cocoa tea contains the whole ground bean including its fibre and fat, so it is thinner and less sweet than hot chocolate and shows a film of cocoa butter on top.
- The nibs release their own cocoa butter during grinding, and that released fat is what binds the paste into a rollable mass.
Substitutions
- Ready-made cocoa balls or sticks are sold in Caribbean shops and save the whole process.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder makes a rougher approximation of the tea but lacks the fat and body.
Variations
- Every household has its own spice blend for the balls.
- Some makers roll thin sticks rather than balls.
- Cocoa tea is drunk across the eastern Caribbean under the same name.
History
Farmers roll roasted cacao with cinnamon and bay leaf into logs that are grated into boiling water, the traditional way Grenadians drink cocoa.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cocoa balls?
Cocoa balls is a snack from Grenada: hand-rolled sticks of ground roasted cacao and spice, grated for cocoa tea. Farmers roll roasted cacao with cinnamon and bay leaf into logs that are grated into boiling water, the traditional way Grenadians drink cocoa.
How long does Cocoa balls take to make?
Cocoa balls takes 1 hour of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 balls. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Cocoa balls?
Yes, within limits. Ready-made cocoa balls or sticks are sold in Caribbean shops and save the whole process. Unsweetened cocoa powder makes a rougher approximation of the tea but lacks the fat and body.
What is the most important thing to get right in Cocoa balls?
Heat a heavy dry pan over a medium heat. Add the cacao beans in a single layer. Work in batches rather than crowding the pan. Stir them constantly with a wooden spoon. Never leave them unattended for a moment. Take them off before any go black. Tip the beans out onto a tray. Let them cool for about ten minutes.
