Recipe
Cacao decoction from crushed beans (cacao tea)
About 15 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Husk roasted cacao beans and crush coarsely in a mortar (or use ready nibs); put 2 tablespoons into a small pan with 300 ml of water.
- Bring to the boil and let it bubble gently for 10 minutes; the drink browns and smells of chocolate, droplets of cocoa butter appear on the surface.
- Strain; add warm milk to taste, a pinch of cinnamon or chilli as in Mesoamerica, and sweeten.
- Do not discard the spent nibs — dried, they are good for baking.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 2 polévkové lžíce drcených pražených bobů (nibsů) na 300 ml
- Solvent:
- voda, mírný var 10 minut; potom mléko podle chuti
- Shelf life:
- vypít teplé, týž den
- Target compounds:
- theobromin, trochu kofeinu a část flavanolů přecházejí do vody; tuk (kakaové máslo) zůstává v nibsech
Notes
A drink with no particular risks; it contains theobromine and a little caffeine, so not in quantity for toddlers and moderate in the evening. Mind dogs — theobromine is toxic to them, not to people.
Why it works
Water draws methylxanthines and part of the polyphenols from the beans, the fat stays behind. EFSA accepted the effect of cocoa flavanols on vessel elasticity at 200 mg a day from cocoa powder or dark chocolate — a home decoction does not guarantee that flavanol content; Cochrane found a small short-term drop in blood pressure with cocoa.
Literature
- EFSA NDA Panel (2012): Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of a health claim related to cocoa flavanols and maintenance of normal endothelium-dependent vasodilation. EFSA Journal 10(7):2809 — Uznané tvrzení pro 200 mg kakaových flavanolů denně z kakaového prášku nebo hořké čokolády.
- Ried K, Fakler P, Stocks NP (2017): Effect of cocoa on blood pressure. Cochrane Database Syst Rev CD008893 — 35 studií; malý krátkodobý pokles tlaku.
Related
Cacao — Herb card
Decoction — Processing method detail