Coffee machines and hot chocolate
Not everyone drinks coffee, and luxury hot drinks don’t just stop at lattes, cappuccinos and flat whites.
Hot chocolate is an essential menu item for almost every coffee shop or cafe.
But can you make quality hot chocolate with a coffee machine? You can, but let’s explain further.
If you weren’t aware there are a few different types of coffee machine.
The traditional coffee machine or the espresso machine and now we have the automatic coffee machine or bean to cup.
For most coffee shops the preferred option is the more traditional espresso option, which over 100 years or so has developed into the professional choice for speciality coffee.
Newer technologies starting in the 80s saw the birth and development of many of the automatic coffee machines that we know today.
These options were programmable and able to create and dispense coffee in sequence.
In the 1990s a wave of brands such as Jura and Nuova Simonelli seized the opportunity to create machines capable of making more complex ‘barista style’ coffee.
Many of which were able to make basic hot chocolate drinks from a powder mix.
Nowadays the bean to cup machine has developed into a rival for a true barista, whilst not all machines are capable of making hot chocolate, many can now make luxurious hot chocolate fit for even the fussiest of customers.
As for making hot chocolate using an espresso machine? Well, that’s a little bit more hands-on but with a luxury end product that your customers will adore.
Making hot chocolate can be as easy or as difficult as you want to make it.
I personally prefer the taste when hot chocolate is made with whole milk, but understand that semi-skimmed or skimmed milk is a healthier option.
Pick your milk wisely!
Fussy drinkers might not entertain the idea of skimmed milk but may adore the taste with a few extra additions though.
Cream, chocolate sauce and marshmallows should be par for the course with any decent coffee shop hot choc.
How to make hot chocolate with an espresso machine
You’ll need
- Hot chocolate mix – of course we use and recommend our own Caffe Society Hot Chocolate mix – it’s sweet, rich and inexpensive to boot!
- Milk – Whole milk is our recommended option but semi-skimmed and skimmed are absolutely fine.
- Milk jug – We sell these too!
- Espresso machine – Not got access to one of these? See our full range online.
- Whipped cream
- Mini marshmallows – For added luxury that even appeases the kids. Stock up here.
Method
- Pour approximately 300ml of milk into your milk jug.
- Add two scoops of hot chocolate powder and stir until mixed.
- Purge your steam wand to ensure a full quality steam flow is ready.
- Much like foaming milk for lattes, foam your chocolate milk mixture with the steam wand head just under the surface of the milk lifting to introduce more air for thick, creamy foam.
- Once the desired foaminess and temperature has been reached tap the milk jug base on your preparation surface to remove any large air bubbles before pouring into a latte glass or large mug.
- Add a squirt of whipped cream for a beautiful rich creamy first sip.
- Top with mini marshmallows for squidgy sweetness without the need for any extra sugar.
- And finally, add a little dusting of hot chocolate mix or cinnamon to finish off an amazing hot drink experience.
We’ve given you the simple but powerful recipe for hot chocolate success, so it’s up to you what you do with it!
We’re sure of one thing though…we really fancy a nice hot drink right about now…