Recipe: Creamy Trinidadian Cocoa Tea

Creamy Trinidadian Cocoa Tea

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• steep :

  to soak a food, like tea, in water or other liquid so as to bring out its flavor.

History of Hot Chocolate!

• Hot chocolate originated with the chocolate drink made by the Mayans around 500 BCE. They mixed chocolate seeds, ground into a paste, with water, cornmeal, and chili peppers. They would usually have the bitter beverage cold. Later, the Aztecs in Mesoamerica drank both cold and hot chocolate mixed with vanilla.
• Cortés brought chocolate and the method for making hot chocolate back to Spain from Mexico when he returned in 1528. Initially, only wealthy Spaniards could afford to consume chocolate and drinks made from it. Eventually, chocolate spread across Europe, and sugar was added to make the chocolate less bitter. Then, sometime in the 17th century, milk was added to the mix, and hot chocolate became more like the version we drink today.
• In the country of Trinidad and Tobago, they drink "cocoa tea," which is not really tea. Spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, are added with chopped dark chocolate or cocoa powder (or both) and sweetener to hot milk and simmered for a few minutes until the chocolate is melted and everything is dissolved and blended.

• Frozen hot chocolate was invented in the 1970s by an ice cream store owner, Steve Harrell, who wanted to enjoy the flavor of hot chocolate during the warm summer months.

• Hot cocoa bombs have become popular in recent years. They are made of chocolate or cocoa and are often hollow with mini marshmallows inside. Hot milk is poured over them to create hot cocoa at any time!

Let's Learn About Trinidad and Tobago!

• The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the furthest south island country in the Caribbean. It is made up of two major islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and many smaller islands. 
• Trinidad and Tobago is almost 7 miles from the northeastern coast of Venezuela, a country in South America. The Caribbean Sea is north of the islands, and the Atlantic Ocean is east and south.
• The capital city is Port of Spain, and the largest city is San Fernando. Both cities are on the island of Trinidad, which is 1,841 square miles. Tobago is 120 square miles. The country's total area is 1,981 square miles, slightly larger than the state of Delaware. The population is over 1.4 million. 
• The official language is English, which became official in 1823 during British colonization. A local dialect is Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, which developed from British English. Before English, French Creole was predominant. Today, the primary spoken language is an English-based Creole, either Trinidadian Creole or Tobagonian Creole.
• Initially, the country was made up of indigenous inhabitants, the Arawak people and the Kalinago, who are native to South America and the Caribbean. However, due to their decimation by Spanish and other European conquests and diseases, descendants of enslaved Africans and South Asian immigrants have changed the country's demographics, with settlers from India now making up the largest ethnic group. 
• The islands are considered an extension of the physical geography of South America. They sit on its continental shelf and were connected to the South American continent thousands of years ago.
• Trinidad is made up of mountains, plains, rainforests, and swamps. The Northern Range is the largest mountain range, running west to east along the island's north coast. El Cerro del Aripo (Mount Aripo) is the highest peak at 3,084 feet. Waterfalls can be found within the mountains, including two that are 298 feet tall, Blue Basin Falls and Maracas Falls. 
• Tobago is known for its beaches. It is also mountainous, and its highest point is Pigeon Peak, at 1,800 feet. The island is of volcanic origin, but it does not have any volcanoes on it.
• Trinidad and Tobago has a tropical climate with two seasons, the dry and the rainy. 
• The islands' flora and fauna are more related to South American countries than other Caribbean islands. The national flower is the "chaconia" because it blossoms around the time of the country's independence from the United Kingdom.
• The national birds are the "cocrico" and scarlet ibis. There are several bird sanctuaries, including a hummingbird reserve, and the country is known as the "land of the hummingbird."
• With large reserves of petroleum and natural gas, those industries dominate the economy, followed by tourism and manufacturing.
• Since many of the people in the country are descendants of Africans and Indians, those cultures have greatly influenced its cuisine, festivals, dance, music, and religion. Calypso, a style of Caribbean music, was born in Trinidad and Tobago. The "limbo" dance also came from there.
• A Trinidadian writer of Indian descent, V.S. Naipaul, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001.
• People from Trinidad and Tobago eat a lot of seafood, including crab, lobster, shrimp, flying fish, and tilapia. They also eat beef, chicken, duck, goat, and pork. Much of their seafood and meats are curried or barbecued.  
• "Doubles" and "roti" are popular street and breakfast foods of Indian origin. "Doubles" consist of curried chickpeas between two "baras" (flat fried rounds of dough) and served with pepper sauce or various chutneys (spreads). "Roti," is a flatbread, served either plain or with "ghee" (clarified butter). Both doubles and roti can also be filled or topped with curried vegetables, seafood, or meats.
• "Callaloo" is a national dish of African origin that is served with lunch or dinner. It is made with the green leaves of root vegetables, like "dasheen" (taro), and may include coconut milk, curried crab, onions, bell peppers, and spices. 

What's It Like to Be a Kid in Trinidad and Tobago?

• Students go to school in Trinidad and Tobago between the ages of 5 and 16. They wear uniforms to class. 
• Kids may participate in sports like football (soccer), cricket, swimming, track and field, and basketball. 
• There are several fun activities for kids and their families to enjoy. On the island of Trinidad in Port of Spain, they can visit the Botanical Gardens, see the animals at the Emperor Valley Zoo in Queen's Park Savannah, or picnic in the park. 
• Kids may want to explore the Gasparee Caves with its Blue Grotto, a clear tidal pool, on the island of Gaspar Grande. 
• They can float or swim in the Nylon Pool, a clear shallow pool created by a sandbar a few miles from the west coast of the island of Tobago in the Caribbean Sea. However, a boat is needed to get to it. They may also enjoy the beaches on Tobago. 
• Kids may eat spinach and cheese pies or macaroni pies for breakfast or lunch. For dessert, they may have "cassava pone," a pudding made with grated cassava, coconut, and pumpkin, or "paime" (pay-me), a sweet cornmeal pie rolled in a banana leaf.  
• Ice cream is also popular, especially coconut and soursop flavors. Soursop is a sweet and sour tropical fruit with a taste described as various combinations of citrus and other tropical fruits, including strawberry, pineapple, mango, coconut, and banana.