Hot chocolate is a winter ritual that we are happy to partake in.

We are on a quest to make Bean and Goose hot chocolate the best you will ever taste. 

Hot chocolate is loved by all. It is the perfect accompaniment to winter snow days to dark and quiet afternoons. 

 

We have tried many hot chocolates. They have mostly left us disappointed. They are often too sweet, too oily, overpowered with artificial flavours and just not chocolatey enough.

 For it to be the best hot chocolate, we are looking for a deep chocolate experience in a velvety smooth, lightly whipped, warm drink.

 

We have tried many recipes on our quest, from those based on a ganache to recipes using cocoa powders. Drinks are made using water, milk, coconut milk, oat milk and everything in between. We have tried them all.

 We’ve learnt that when you want the ultimate hot chocolate experience, you must move away from the powders; only real chocolate will do.

Here is how it’s done

Chocolate

It has to be real chocolate with a pure ingredient list. No oils, powders, fillers, or artificial flavours to compete with the chocolate hit you’re craving.

It has to be dark chocolate. Milk chocolate is too sweet. If you use oat milk, your finished drink will have a natural sweetness, but if you want to add an extra sweetener at the end, you can.  

To make a velvety smooth hot chocolate, you should look for chocolate shavings or chocolate flakes. This will help the chocolate to melt evenly and distribute through your warm milk. 

 Milk

We have tried them all, and the best hot chocolate milk is oat milk. It does not compete with the flavour of chocolate; it’s creamy and creates the lightest froth.

Flavours

 Classic hot chocolate only needs dark chocolate shavings, oat milk and a pinch of salt.

 Our other loved flavours are Winter Spice, dark chocolate infused with cinnamon, the tiniest dash of vanilla and an obligatory pinch of Irish sea salt.

 We have developed a hot chocolate with the bitter-sweet and complex flavour of a great mocha. Fresh coffee and cardamom are infused in our dark chocolate.

How it’s done

For years we used big stock pots to make great hot chocolate. But now, to make the best hot chocolate, we use a hot chocolate velvetiser, a Dualit milk frother. It is the ultimate hot chocolate-making machine. The Dualit will heat and whip the lightest, most delicious hot chocolate of your dreams. 

We add 120g of oat milk and 30g of either Classic, Winter Spice or Mocha hot chocolate to the machine and press the button. In less than 120 seconds, you will pour out a stream of hot, velvety chocolate. It is the best way to make great hot chocolate every single time.

 If you don’t have the Dualit frother, just add 30g of chocolate to a little hot milk, combine to melt the chocolate making a thick ganache, and then add the rest of your warmed milk. To finish, froth with a handheld emulsifier.

  

Add a pinch of salt.

 Whichever method you use, enjoy it slowly. 

To join us in hot chocolate indulgence SHOP HERE

Karen & Natalie xx