Brewed Chocolate? Choffy!

You know how coffee starts out as beans, and they roast them and then they (or you) grind them, and then you brew it and then you have coffee?  Imagine all that, except with cacao beans....the ones that are used to make chocolate.

Friends, meet Choffy.

I was goofing off on facebook doing research on the computer one day and an ad popped up for 'brewed chocolate'.  What?  Clickety-click, and I'm looking at a site for a product that sounds to me like heaven in a cup.  Being me, I got hold of the local Choffy distributor, trolling for a sample.  Terra (that's her name) was very nice and sent me some Choffy to try.  She even sent me this super cool cup to brew it in! 

Let me say that I love the smell of coffee beans, but I don't like coffee.  It's too bitter and strong and unless I'm adding cold coffee to a chocolate cake recipe, I don't use coffee at all.  I tell you that because when it came to trying Choffy, I didn't quite know what to expect.  Would it be thick and rich and gooey like drinkable chocolate?  Would it be anything like chocolate at all? 

Having eaten a lot of chocolate in my life, I did already know that the sweetness in chocolate is an added product - it's not naturally sweet, or else that 80% cacao bar that I bought that time would have tasted more like yum and less like dirt.  Choffy itself is not sweet either - just like coffee itself is not sweet....but at least it didn't taste like dirt!  If you want it to be sweet, just add sweetener.

What about the creamy smoothness of milk chocolate?  Would it be like that?  Well, they call it 'milk chocolate' because they add milk to it.  So, just like coffee, if you want it to be creamy, add some milk or cream. 

I followed the instructions that came with my sample.  When I opened the packet, the scent was heavenly.  Oh my...I wanted to live in that packet!  I heated the water, brewed the Choffy as directed, and then I did the right thing (for me) - I added some french vanilla flavored creamer. 


The ground Choffee is still in the cup, with the water....



...but this nifty lid with a built-in filter keeps the grounds isolated.



Push down the plunger and Choffy is ready to drink. 
It can be made with a French Press
 (this cup is like a mini one-use French Press)
or a drip coffee maker with a stainless filter.

I didn't quite know what to expect.  I was pleasantly surprised!  For one thing, the aroma is phenomenal the whole time.  I could smell chocolate in the kitchen, in the car, in the library...and so could other people.  The taste is hard for me to describe.  It's a very deep chocolate sort of flavor, but it doesn't linger the way actual chocolate lingers, because it's a liquid, and doesn't have the cocoa butter. 

According to the info put out by the Choffy company, it is a great source of antioxidants and the stimulant, theobromine, is a better option than caffeine.  You can control the sweetness/creaminess just like you would with coffee.  I never felt 'buzzed' (I have felt that the times that I tried to 'take up coffee') or jittery.  I don't like coffee, and I don't like tea, but I really did enjoy the Choffy.  If you are 'addicted to coffee' this sounds like it's a healthier alternative.  It should store well long-term, too.  I'm also wondering if there's a way to use this to infuse recipes...it's something I want to experiment with, for sure!

Now here's the cool part.  Terra, the World's Most Awesome Choffy Distributor, is willing to give a packet of Choffy to one of my readers.  That's right, y'all - one of you lucky duckies is getting Choffy to try for yourself!  This Giveaway is now Closed.

Want to enter?  I'm not going to ask you to jump through 27 hoops, become a follower, like me on TwitterBook or any of that stuff.  All I ask is that you head over to the Choffy site, look around a bit, then pop back in over here and tell me two things:

1.  What is  your favorite chocolaty thing in the whole wide world?
2.  Which Choffy brew sounds most interesting and tasty to you?

Leave that information in the comments, OK?  On April 22, 2013 I will use a randomizer to select the winner and I'll announce the winner here on TenThingsFarm.  You will have to email me to claim your prize, and if I don't hear from you in a week, I'll select a new winner.  Edited 4/14/13 to add:  This giveaway is open to readers in the United States. 

If you can't wait that long - boy howdy, do I understand that - you can click on over and order Choffy right now.  If you win, it'll just mean more Choffy for you!

The Truth:  I did ask to try Choffy in exchange for an honest review of the product.  Terra agreed to the giveaway out of the goodness of her own heart.  I am not being paid (other than the Choffy she sent me) for the review, and it is my honest review of the Choffy product. 

Don't forget to comment/enter!!

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