Cocoa Hernando are currently on the lookout for assistance with an ever-expanding calendar of exciting events.
Our business is built on a passion for chocolate, interesting flavours, travel, discovery, design & philanthropy amongst others aswell as a genuine desire to create & do amazing things. So if you’re a reliable, flexible & sociable sort and are excited about what we do, then please get in touch.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Paul
hello[at]cocoahernando.com
Talented chef & author, Ivor Peters was one of the first people to congratulate us on our Masala Chai chocolate and I’ll always be grateful for such kind words from someone who obviously knows his Puri from his Paneer. And since his recent cookbook is jam-packed full of beautiful Indian memories & recipes, I thought I’d ask The Urban Rajah for his personal memoirs on India’s favourite refreshment……
“Some would call it a routine, I prefer to think of it as a ritual, my Grandfather’s military career instilled in him a sense of daily order. His shoes were buffed and polished and shone like black gold, they sat patiently by his dresser waiting to be addressed, his striped tie lay folded next to his socks. Like many of his generation he was a dapper man and wore formality with ease. He’d start the day with a quick immersion in reading a set of proverbs or poetry before laying out the ingredients for his brew. His beloved chai involved a huddle of green cardamom pods waiting to be cracked in a pestle and mortar, a simmering pot containing enough whole milk for 3 or 4 glasses (enough for my slumbering grandmother). Ceremonially he’d slip in a couple of tea bags and watch them glide in the milk pond like inflatable lilos before weighing them down with a scoop of sugar. Then went in the cardamom pods bobbing around like lifebuoys, followed by crushed cloves, ground fennel, stripped ginger and a skinny cheroot of cinnamon. Gently and slowly the milk turned a gorgeous caramel.
He used the brewing ritual as an opportunity in time to recite his morning’s read “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold” I watched his broad frame moving at a glacial pace as he used a spoon to gently swim the tea bags around the pan never crushing them. When ready he’d pour enough strained masala chai into a tea glass then lift it high enough to pour it dramatically into an empty bystander below, repeating the process several times to aerate the chai, agitate the spices and create bubbles on the surface. No doubt he’d seen the process being performed in the food bazaars across the Indian Subcontinent. For as long as I can remember, whenever I slept at my Grandparents, my Nana-Ji would perform this ritual.
In our accelerated world it reminds me of the importance of rituals, a chance to pause, order, reflect and enjoy a moment in time. Wonderfully choreographed, thoughtfully executed, the ritual of my Grandfather’s masala chai produced not only a delicious blend of tea, but a valuable set of instructions for life….taste takes time to cultivate”.
www.urbanrajah.com
@urbanrajah
During March 2014, Selfridges will be launching the world’s biggest chocolate library and we’re very excited to announce that our Herbs & Spice Collection will be part of the collection.
The library will feature an A-Z of the world’s finest chocolate brands & even a librarian. We can’t wait to check it out!
Having loved my recent encounters with Henry Jermyn, Cosimo de Medici & the rest of the rogues from London’s 17th century Chocolate House Tour, I was delighted to be offered the opportunity for more confectionary time-travel, on this occasion to meet the legendary chocolatier Thomas Tosier, who resided at Hampton Court Palace three hundred years ago.
Mr Tosier was the royal chocolate-maker of King George I & I was at the Palace to witness the reopening of his ancient chocolate rooms, which were rediscovered last year amongst piles of shelves, pots & stanchions. I was to learn all about the places the chocolatier & his successors used to prepare their regal 18th century cocoa, in an era when hot chocolate continued to be the most decadent drink around.
From Fountain Court at the heart of the Palace, I began at a small, sparse room which was the Chocolate Kitchen. It was from here that Mr Tosier would prepare his Jamaican cacao beans on a small wooden table, turn & roast them on a spitjack before beating the cacao in a saucepan over a charcoal burner. It must have been a hot, smoky & harsh room to work in, so I can only imagine the chocolatier must have loved moving onto the slightly more comfortable surroundings of his Chocolate Room. And so it seemed, as I was warmly welcomed into this second room by a smartly dressed Mr Tosier himself. Amongst a table of spices & tools, fine silverware and shelves crammed with ornate drinking vessels, the chocolatier prepared the chocolate on a hot grinder.
He described how he would slowly crush the nibs, extracting the resulting chocolate into a pan followed by blending it with spices, wine or even port before popping up the stairs to serve the luxurious drink to his Royal Highness himself. He spoke warmly of his wife, whose portrait was on the wall – Grace was also an exuberant character who certainly made the most of the Tosier name, having opened a very popular chocolate house in Greenwich. Finally he then served us a cup of his finest hot chocolate, a thick dark drink teeming with all kinds of flavours from jasmine to aniseed. An interesting drink to suit a very interesting tour!
