Cocoa Shells

A thrift drink built from the husks left over when cacao beans are cracked, closer in body to a tea than to a cup of cocoa. It works, but only if you give it the full boil and buy shells meant for eating.

• What cocoa shells areThey are the papery hulls removed from roasted cacao beans, once a cheap byproduct of chocolate mills. They are sold today as cacao shell, cocoa husk or cocoa tea; buy food-grade only, never garden mulch, which is not processed for consumption.
• Cocoa nibsThe nibs called for at the end are the crushed bean kernels themselves. They carry the fat and most of the flavour, which is exactly why the recipe says the drink is better with them; a third of a cup is worth adding.
• The long boil is not a mistakeShells are woody and give up their flavour slowly, which is why the recipe asks for a full three hours of boiling. Rushing it gives tinted water.
• Topping upThe recipe says only that more water must be added as it boils away; topping up with boiling rather than cold water will keep the pot from dropping off the boil.
• StrainingStrain through a fine sieve lined with muslin. Shell fragments break down over three hours and a coarse strainer leaves grit in the cup.
• Yield and servingThe recipe gives no yield; with topping up you will finish with something in the region of the six cups you began with. Serve hot with milk and sugar to taste. It is thin by design; do not expect the body of drinking chocolate.
• Caffeine and theobromineShells hold a little of both, less than coffee but not none. The same theobromine is why cocoa hulls are dangerous to dogs, so keep the spent shells out of reach when you discard them.