You all know about my love for hot chocolate during the winter months, don’t you? I’ve written about it many times. I even shared the ultimate in hot chocolate with you when I was working in New York City last year. This rich confection was a treat from the City Bakery:
My favorite? Ghirardelli’s. Umm-ummm good!
But Ghirardelli’s is a bit pricey. I usually find a way to validate my purchase: “I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I rarely eat out, it’s cold outside. I deserve it.” But as winter is winding down, I couldn’t quite justify buying another tin. I started drinking Mandarin Orange Spice Herbal Tea in the afternoon. Very nice, but not quite the same as hot chocolate. Yes, it has a pleasant taste, it’s hot, it’s in a mug…but it’s not chocolate.
So, I found myself at Trader Joe’s the other day and happened upon a display featuring their tins of hot chocolate. Perfect, said I, perfect! Because we all know part of the allure of Trader Joe’s is the great prices. The price turned out to be considerably less than Ghirardelli’s. Yippee! And why not try another brand? I was expanding my horizons. I was proud of myself.
Fast forward a few days. Don left for work in the late afternoon. I feed the dogs at that point, make some tea or hot chocolate and sit down in the den. It’s a peaceful time that I look forward to. The dogs sack out after they’ve chowed down. The house is quiet. I usually read some blogs and sip on my beverage of choice.
Ah! This was the time to make that hot chocolate from Trader Joe’s. I warmed up the milk – actually, almond milk – and read the directions on the label which said to add 2 tablespoons of cocoa to warm milk. Hmmm. Ghirardelli’s instructions were to add 4 tablespoons. I figured I’d split the difference and use 3.
Off I went to the den, mug in hand, dogs at my feet. I got settled, opened up my laptop and proceeded to take a sip of the hot chocolate.
My mouth felt like it was on fire.
My taste buds were screaming. It felt like someone had dumped pepper in the mug and mixed it with the hot chocolate. It was bad. I almost did a spit take – had I been in a movie, I guarantee the director would have made me do one. What happened? Had I dumped everything into a mug that had something else in it? Unlikely. Was this a bad batch? Had someone, God forbid, tampered with the hot chocolate, like the Tylenol scare of so many years ago?
I ran to the kitchen and dumped it out. What the ???
Then I grabbed the tin for a closer look.
It was ‘Spicy Hot Cocoa.’
Spicy? Who the heck drinks Spicy Hot Cocoa? Well, obviously people do, but not me! When I told Don about it, he imagined the spices to be cinnamon and cloves; gentle, warm, comforting spices. Well, there’s cinnamon in it, for sure. But the main spice? Cayenne Pepper.
Yes, you read that correctly. Cayenne Pepper.
No wonder I ran to the kitchen, mouth on fire.
I immediately found some sort of generic brand of hot chocolate buried in the pantry and proceeded to drink it. I had to erase the sense memory of that nightmarish taste.
Lesson learned. Read labels more carefully. And pay the extra $3.50 for Ghirardelli’s.
Oh no!! I hate it when I do not read the label all the way.
That sounds like an old episode of I Love Lucy! lol I have had a few disappointments in product purchases over the years, too. But what I want to know is WHO IN THE WORLD would want to drink SPICY hot chocolate? ugh…xo Diana
Yikes! Seems cayenne is being added to everything along with bacon?!
Hope you get your good chocolate soon..you deserve it!
happy weekend!
Unreal…..why would they put that in hot chocolate. Wonder if anyone served this to children…..yikes. I bet you were so mad. I would have been.
I agree when you don’t have nasty habits you need to be treated to what you love.
Enjoy your week-end.
I think there’s probably a reason the directions called for 2 tablespoons of the mix and not 3. I love spicy hot chocolate!
I know that they put chocolate in chili in Mexico. So, cayenne in hot chocolate is basically the same idea. I know that I wouldn’t like it…I love the expensive one too :) I gave up chocolate for Lent and I miss it so.
Balisha
Yikes! I do love Trader Joes, but sometimes they do have some odd stuff. I bet they would be happy to refund your money the next time you’re in there.
This would not be my favorite hot chocolate at all! I know people like spice with chocolate but icky to me. I agree, return to Trader Joe’s! Maybe they have some nonspicy you can try!
YUM!!!
If you have ever watched the movie Chocolate, set in France, there she drinks a chili Chocolate drink, originating from S. America, the Aztecs or Mayans I think.
I did taste a sample of that in T. Joe’s and bought it for that very reason I like it. Dare I say that.
But I can see it would be a shock if you were not expecting it.
Christy
Lil Bit Brit
Yuck! I can’t imagine putting those flavors together??… although I’ve seen truffles in that combination. Still.. yuck.
Actually, I would have liked that. Cayenne is very good for us. Once in a while, I have a cup of hot water with 1/4 cup of cayenne in it. It’s very good for the digestion and I find it energizes me. It’s especially helpful when we have a heavy meal and we feel stuffed. A cup of hot water with cayenne added will burn it in no time at all!
I’m sorry, but there definitely was some humor to your story! I love those times when you think “hey……I’ve waited all day for THIS moment……you settle into your chair, put your feet up, then something happens and your “me” moment is interrupted by the phone ringing, the dog leaving you a “present” on the rug, or, as you said, the cocoa you had waited for all day turns out to be full of cayenne pepper!
My guess is that Trader Joe’s will happily refund your $. (I just read the link to your trip to NY and the Strand Book Store…..sounds wonderful!) have a great day Claudia :)
You make me laugh, so sorry at your expense…
Nothing like thinking it’s going to taste one way, and finding out it’s nowhere near what you had envisioned.
Whoops. Giggle sorry…
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
Claudia I feel for you especially if you don’t like spicy things. I buy pure Spanish Spiced Chocolate which has a lot of Cayenne and I love it but I really like spicy food. There is nothing worse that thinking you are eating or drinking one thing and it shockingly turns out to be something else.
I would probably like it if it were made with the exact directions. But, what a surprise to you to have to swallow.
Betty
Kinda bizarre, huh? Love your new cut!
That’s about the last thing I would have expected in my cocoa! ~ Maureen
Oh Claudia, I have never heard of such a thing! But I have done things like that myself and it’s always a nasty wake up. Ann
Thanks Claudia! You made me laugh this morning! Love you!
Oh I needed the laugh this morning Claudia! When I was reading about how you were snuggling in and looking so forward to some downtime, I just knew it was going to end badly :) Oh definitely pay the extra my friend. Your justifying sounds so much like mine. When it comes to magazines…I always tell Dale, “this is my beer and cigarette money” :)
sending love…
I’m sorry but I’m cracking up with this little episode of yours! Cayenne pepper? What are they nuts? Thanks for the reminder to read the labels more carefully. I hope you were able to the fire out and get your taste buds back to normal.
~Sandy
I love chocolate and one of my weaknesses are the Dairy Milk Chocolate bars. They’ve come out with a bunch of new concoctions, one of which is a chili pepper (or something like that)and chocolate bar. Think I’ll pass on that one!
It must have been quite a shock when you took that first sip.
Have a wonderful weekend. :)
OH WOW!!!!…..SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT.
AND MONEY WASTED….TRY TAKING IT BACK…….IT’S WORTH PAYING THE 3.50….FOR THE BRAND YOU ENJOY……AND BESIDES…YOU DESERVE IT….HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND….RIZZI
Oh no! I know what it is like to misread a label. Sometimes we get in a fireball hurry and regret it later.
Claudia, I JUST got my BEAUTIFUL green scarf and I
L.
O.
V.
E.
it!!!!!!!!! It is so lightweight and sooooo soft and just perfect for spring. Your packaging is adorable, too. Anyone who buys one is in for a real treat.
xxoo
Becky
Prepared properly and with the proper expectation it is quite good..I tried a sample one day At TJ’s
BUT you must expect it and use the proper amount or poor you, a very unpleasant experience.
Yeah ghiradelli is the best and I do a trick I learned at a cafe in Santa Barbara. I drop two Ghiradelli chips in the bottom of the mug before I add hot cocoa. As you slowly sip down it becomes richer and richer until you simply must swipe the bottom with a finger to get the last gooey delicious chocolate.
xx
z
Funny story! But don’t toss the can out! Trader Joe’s has a great return policy – they’ll either refund your money or you can “exchange” it for another item – no questions asked! Perhaps, they have some REAL Hot Chocolate you can try!
Cayenne Pepper! Ewww, I love spicy, but not in my hot chocolate! Treat yourself to the Ghiradelli, you deserve it.
-Lynn
Oh YUCK!!! What a disappointment!! I am not a big hot cocoa drinker, but I do like good hot chocolate. I would not like pepper in my cocoa, that is for sure!
Oh no, that would have probably ruined hot chocolate for me forever. :(
This sounds like something I would do. I think it sounds gross too. Maybe it is a south of the equator thing.
I remember watching a movie in which the shop owner served a hot chocolate with a dash of pepper in it. I thought ” who would want that?” I guess there people that do, but UGH! Hope you get your favorites soon…life is too short!
Blessings, Joanne
I know in Mexico it is not uncommon to add a little “heat” to chocolate, but it’s not for me, I do not like spicy foods or drink. Ghiradelli is also my favorite, and I figure since I only drink it in the winter it is worth the money. Oh, well, live and learn. Hope you at least enjoyed the generic stuff.
I don’t know if I would’ve liked cayenne in my hot chocolate, but I’ve had dark chocolate truffles with cayenne in them, and I loved them! Hope you didn’t throw the rest out (or at least, the can)…TJ’s will refund your money.
I have never heard of spicy Hot chocolate! Yuck…who would have ever thought to put cayenne pepper in it?? Maybe you are suppose to drink it on really, really frigid cold days. That would warm you up fast! Sorry you wasted your money on that one! Glad you had some regular in the cupboard!~Hugs, Patti
Oh poor you! I’ve had cupcakes that had cayenne pepper in them and they were very good. But of course they were room temperature. I think your cocoa may have been hard to take because in addition to being spicy it was also… HOT! hahahah