Crema_de_la_Crema Senior Member Joined: 8 Nov 2004 Posts: 17 Location: Kansas City, MO Expertise: Pro Barista
Espresso: Astoria Grinder: Rancilio Drip: Melitta Cone; Press Pot
Posted Mon Nov 8, 2004, 8:43pm Subject: Powdered chais and Cocoas.
I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but it has been driving me crazy as of lately.
I used to live in San Francisco, and whilest I was living in the City by the Bay, I had the wonderful oppurtinity to work at one of the best coffee chains in the country: Peet's Coffee and Tea. Peet's is by far the only leading coffee chain that still gives a rip about the product that they are selling.
I relocated recently to a suburb outside of Kansas City, MO and having been baristaing at a local cafe, if you can call it a cafe. The place has the normal gourmet coffee lists: mochas, lattes, wet and dry capps, so on. But it also is a restaurant that sells more food than it does espresso.
Which leads to my dilemma. Because we aren't a "normal" cafe, the quality of our products that we use for the espresso bar are lackluster to say the least. Powdered, presweetened chais and hot chocolates, Hershey's Milk Chocolate Syrup, underroasted espresso beans, and no whole milk (because according to the management, people are trying to lose weight, and don't want a heavy drink).
When I make a "chai latte," (if you can actually call it that) or a hot chocolate, the directions the owner gave to the managers was that you pour around 8 oz. of milk into a pitcher and add the powder on top. Steam the solution, without creating any unnecessary foam, and get the whirpool action going to evenly mix the powder and milk. The first time I saw my manager do this, I about threw down my hat and apron and walked out in disbelief. How good can this be for the wand? The powder cakes on the wand so bad that I have to use a Brillo pad to scrub it off. It's horrible.
I've tried steaming the milk and adding it to the powder in a cup, but the powder clumps up and doesn't mix right. I would rather get rid of the product alltogether, but that would cost more, and being a new business, and living in an area where fresh chai or cocoa isn't in high demand, I probably won't see the day when it happens. Does anyone having any suggestions for me as to mix the powder with milk without having to touch the powder to the wand? Please help, I'm dyin' out here.
UrbanFigaro Senior Member Joined: 11 Jul 2004 Posts: 76 Location: New York, NY Expertise: Professional
Espresso: SGL Big Bar Drip: Chemex, Melitta Clarity Roaster: Gimme Coffee, Intelligentsia
Posted Mon Nov 8, 2004, 9:22pm Subject: Re: Powdered chais and Cocoas.
A really simple and cheap solution is to steam the milk, and then pour in the powder and use something like the Aerolatte milk frother to whip it all together. This also works really well for making hot chocolate using steamed milk and solid or powdered chocolate.
pineapple Senior Member Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 1 Expertise: Pro Barista
Posted Wed Nov 10, 2004, 10:40am Subject: Re: Powdered chais and Cocoas.
At the shop where I work, we have to use powdered Chai and cocoas as well. The only solution I've come up with for mixing the drink well is to first mix a VERY SMALL amount of boiling hot water with the powder first to dissolve it. Most powdered drinks are designed to be dissolved in hot water anyway. After that, you should be able to free pour the frothed milk into the concentrated chai to get a well-mixed and thick latte. Maybe not ideal, but I hope this helps.
expobar Senior Member Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 3,003 Location: .
Posted Wed Nov 10, 2004, 2:55pm Subject: Re: Powdered chais and Cocoas.
First, let me say welcome to CG! (HAH, beat you Jon!)
Second, I have a few things to say:
We use powdered chocolate mixes for our Mexican hot chocolates. The method I was taught and the method that is used is adding powder then milk. I get near no buildup, and with a damp rag it is easily cleared off the wand.
We use concentrated chais, which are really no different from yours, only yours are more concentrated. It sucks that you use Hershey's Syrup, it is too sweet and is overpowering.
Here's the thing I have to say: I think your job at Peet's made you get a bad idea of roast levels. I know Peet's promotes the dark roast ("Essential oils of the beans surface and exhibit a shiny gleam."). However, dark roasts are hard to pull of, as they're usually thin and ashy. I personally usually hate dark roast espressos. The espresso I'm using right now is very light. So, really unless their espresso beans taste like grass (if they're pretty much still green), they're not under-roasted. Do you know who you get your beans from?
"Chai Latte" makes sense - Chai is an Indian tea that is brewed in milk. Latte means "milk" in italian. Latte does not mean "espresso and milk". I think Latte, more than anything, refers to heat in this instance.
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