Can’t get up in the morning? Try a cold mix of Cadbury Cocoa. Can’t retire in the evening? Take a hot Cadbury Cocoa mix. Contradictory? Maybe, but it works.
Cocoa comes from a small tree. The cocoa fruit, if that’s what you call it, is covered by a hard bark-like pod which contains the cocoa seeds. Children usually sip on the fresh seeds which is mildly sweet but tangy. The dried seeds are roasted then ground for better mixing effects. Commercial cocoas like Cadbury are processed not differently although some claim that theirs is a procedure that brings out the best in the cocoa. Natural cocoa does not easily dissolve in water or milk so there may be some truth to their claims.
Cadbury cocoa came to our household just a few years back when a cousin from the U.S. gave us a can (I guess it was a cylindrical carton). I poured a spoonful in a glass of milk and stirred then drank. Halfway though, the bitter taste stopped me. That’s when I learned that the mix has no sugar in it but that it already contains milk. And since I like drinking fresh milk, Cadbury mix did not stop me from mixing it with fresh milk and a spoonful of sugar, of course. But then again, the bitter taste remained. Uh-oh, I don’t take I could drink Cadbury cocoa everyday.
The children in our house didn’t like Cadbury cocoa mix and they prefer the locally-made chocolate mixes. Perhaps it is the habit but on second thought, children say Cadbury cocoa is so bitter even if you put in too much sugar. So the can of Cadbury cocoa stayed in the cupboards for a time. Why would I throw an imported product?
My mother used baking chocolates for her favorite chocolate roll. One time I recommended to her Cadbury Cocoa mix. She was really surprised to find the taste of her chocolate roll much better that no one believed her when she said she used Cadbury cocoa mix. I also invented a recipe for a refrigerator cake using Cadbury cocoa mix. Plain biscuits mixed with condensed milk and cream plus a sprinkling of Cadbury cocoa mix results in delicious refrigerator cake – a cake that is not baked, ha?
New Year main fare for us Filipinos is mainly firecrackers and the traditional midnight dinner of roasted meat, soup and hot chocolate. You can guess that we are now having hot Cadbury cocoa mix for our New Year’s eve midnight dinner. Some friends are teasing me that I may be working for Cadbury’s advertising department. Despite the bitter taste, Cadbury cocoa still has a use in our household. Drinking bitter chocolate is really a tradition here.
My grandparents were raised in taking the morning coffee. But if they were alive today, I guess they would switch to Cadbury cocoa mix. My parents did - At least, every new year’s eve.
Want to try?