Cabaret Brewed Chocolate Questions and Answers
What is Brewed Chocolate?
We brew whole cacao beans in water to extract the flavor and essence. Much the same as coffee is brewed from coffee beans -- except it takes a lot longer.
Then we sweeten this wonderful liquid with organic sugar and reduce it into concentrated syrup. You stir this syrup into hot water - by the teaspoon - to instantly create a small cup of brewed chocolate. Each teaspoon serving contains only 24 calories and less than half a gram of fat.
How'd you come up with this?
We were fascinated by the fact that the ancient Mexicans seemed to value chocolate even more for how it made them feel than for how it tasted. So we started with traditional methods for making liquid chocolate beverages directly from cocoa beans (cacao) and quickly discovered that these drinks had some remarkable effects.
From there, it was a long process of refinement -- with the help of volunteer testers all over the United States -- to create the right flavor for today's tastes and a form that's convenient and versatile.
Is it a drug?
Brewed chocolate is a pure and simple food, made only from water, whole cacao beans and organic evaporated cane juice.
It's therefore no more of a drug than a cup of coffee with a teaspoon of sugar. But the effects are different than coffee.
Although many people do not feel any effects from brewed chocolate, most people enjoy pleasant sensations. Some feel a nice sense of relaxation. Others feel a gentle burst of energy. Others feel both.
A small fraction of people are more sensitive to the effects of brewed chocolate. They may, for example, feel sleepy or highly energized after drinking only a small amount. Start with no more than a teaspoon in half a cup (four ounces) of water, and wait at least 30 minutes to see how you feel. And, of course, don't drive or perform important work until you know how brewed chocolate affects you.
I've been eating chocolate all my life. Why have I never felt this way?
We don't really know why brewed chocolate reveals qualities of the cacao beans that are not experienced when you eat manufactured chocolate or drink beverages made from cocoa powder. It may that the intense processing involved in making these products destroys natural compounds. It may be due, in part, to the natural fat - which is almost entirely absent from brewed chocolate.
In any event, the pleasant effects of brewed chocolate were clearly evident to the ancient Mexicans, who lacked all our modern methods for processing cocoa into candy and confections.
How does it taste?
Even though each teaspoon is made from almost an ounce of whole cocoa beans, the flavor is light and delicate. Quite different than traditional "rich" chocolate beverages, but a revelation for those who want to enjoy the true natural flavor of cacao.