Choffy is a hot beverage made from brewing ground roasted cacao beans instead of coffee beans.
If you were a fan of friends, you may remember the episode when Monica was testing different experimental foods and made recipes using “mockolate”. At first, the name Choffy reminded me of this, but there’s nothing experimental or artificial here, just an interesting new beverage.
What is Choffy?
In many ways it’s similar to hot cocoa, but actually much healthier. Here’s why…
Cocoa powder is made from ground cacao as well, but a second process strips most of the cocoa butter or fat from the powder so that it will mix well with water.
This process is known as Dutching and it removes many of the natural antioxidants found in the cacao bean.
Choffy, on the other hand, is simply roasted cacao beans that have been ground with most of the antioxidants remaining.
How Do the Antioxidants Compare?
The makers of Choffy state the following:
By weight, raw cacao contains the highest concentration of antioxidants of any food in the world, more than red wine, blueberries, açai, pomegranates, and goji berries combined. A brewed 8oz. cup of Choffy has an ORAC rating of 4874.4 μmole TE. There are more antioxidants in an 8oz. cup of Choffy than almost two servings of blueberries!
However, roasting cacao does remove some of the antioxidants, but still a lot remain. I would still recommend eating some blueberries and other fruit as the variety of antioxidants in your diet will be greater and this should be your overall goal.
How Does Choffy Taste?
The folks over at Choffy sent me some IC Dark to try out. I brewed mine using a French press and drank it black as I do my coffee.
Choffy had a nice, light chocolatey flavor and was slightly bitter but not as bitter as dark roasted coffee. It was enjoyable to drink and was a nice change from my regular coffee.
Choffy suggests that consumers add vanilla creamer or milk etc. and this just comes down to personal preference. Milk or cream would mellow out the bitterness like it does coffee.
According to Energyfiend.com, Choffy has 23mg of caffeine per 6oz. cup, so those that don’t like a lot of caffeine could have another option besides tea or decafe.
Choffy is also rich in theobromine, which is similar to caffeine, yet most describe its effect as “feel good” rather than that of “alertness”.
If you’re looking for a nice alternative to coffee and you love chocolate, Choffy might be a big hit with you.
