i posted this is the other thread about cacao combos, but figured its gettin a little off that topic and needs its own,

so i got about a half pound of crushed nibs at the raw foods store this weekend. I have no idea if i did this right but it tasted pretty awesome.

I took a little more than an ounce of the crushed nibs and lightly boiled them in water for a while pretty much like i do with mushroom tea, making sure not to boil it too hot. I boiled that down for a while and then strained the chunks out, added milk and some sweetener, and it was the richest most flavorful hot chocolate ive ever had. I wonder if i wasted the nibs though, because i didnt feel much, i had a good little buz goin for a minute but it wasnt much and it didnt last very long. So i brewed another cup with only a little more than a half oz, even though i wasnt feeling anything I didnt want to overdo it. Tasted awesome once again, but no noticeable effects.

So what should i do differently? Do i just need to eat the nibs? I think the powdered nibs might be better for the drink.

Doing a little more research i have found that i probably need to eat the nibs to get the effects im looking for. The site i found reccomended blending them with water to make a paste, then heating that and adding more water/sweetner to make a warm drink, or just chewing the nibs up and eating them. I think ill just toss another ounce in some yogurt tonight and try that. Anybody else know some tricks?

From the information I have gathered about it, I believe if you cook the Cacao then
The active alkaloids that you want get greatly diminished.
Try to eat it as raw as possible and tune into what it has to offer.

I have not actually tried it yet, but have some raw Cacao on the way.
I have been doing quite a bit of reaserch, so that's my recommendation

Let us know how it goes!

Yes, eat the beans. Making hot chocolate is pretty hard, and i would not try that personally. The best route for me has been the smoothie one. Just mix a handfull of your nibs with a bit of water or milk, add a couple of bananas and then blend for a minute or so. I also like to put beans in a blender and mix the powder with oatmeal or other breakfast cereals.

I really like to toss cacao into my mate' gourd. I usually throw in some peppermint and some oats as well. The combination of yerba mate' and cacao creates a wonderful synergy and adding the mint and oats makes a tasty and nutritious pick-me-up to sip on all day long.

thanks for the tips guys, i think ill try the smoothie recipie this weeknd sounds simple enough. I threw a little less than a half ounce of the nibs in my yogurt the other night but i didnt put it in the blender, might have been better that way. I just chewed up the chunks real good, wich suprisingly didnt really taste that bad at all (unless you get a good chunk stuck in your tooth lol).