Hot Cocoa Tutorial; How to make Gourmet Hot Cocoa at home

With the weather turning cold, the one thing I always keep in stock is hot cocoa! It’s the one hot drink that everyone can enjoy! But sometimes that plain-jane hot cocoa can get old. And quite honestly I love the fancy stuff you can get from cafe’s! But the problem is that it can get quite expensive at $2-3 a cup! That’s why I learned how to make it on my own and now I’m going to share with you the secret so you can make your own gourmet hot cocoa in any flavor you want for those cold days!

Gather your Gourmet Hot cocoa Ingredients

To make gourmet hot cocoa you only need a few items.

• Your favorite plain hot cocoa (no flavors, just simple chocolatey goodness. I love dark chocolate the best but land o’ Lakes or Stephens makes really good plain chocolate hot cocoa mixes)
• Hot water
• Whipped cream
• Your favorite Torani Syrup.

You may be asking yourself, “What in the world is Torani syrup?” And frankly that is a good question. Until a year ago, I had never heard of it. And then my sister-in-law got married and she had a gourmet hot cocoa bar at their wedding reception. And there was Torani everywhere! Oh my goodness, I was hooked!

Torani is the #1 brand of flavored syrups in America. They  have over 100 delicious flavors made out of the highest ingredients like pure cane sugar. Since 1925, 3rd generation family-owned Torani has been crafting great tasting flavored syrups that coffeehouses use to make their flavored drinks taste so delicious. So you go to a coffeehouse to get a gourmet cup of coffee or hot cocoa; odds are quite high that they are using Torani to make it taste so amazing!

Coffeehouses often use Torani flavored syrups for flavored lattes, mochas, coffees, cocoas, Italian sodas, teas, lemonades, cocktails and smoothies. So now you know the secret to those expensive gourmet drinks! And now Torani even has Sugar Free flavors that have zero calories and are sweetened with Splenda.

Torani syrups are widely available at retail stores and grocery stores nationwide. They even have them in my little town, now that’s impressive! And if you can’t find the flavor you want; you can always buy them on the Torani Website.

Crafting the perfect Gourmet Hot cocoa with Torani

So with your ingredients gathered it is really simple to make the most amazing gourmet hot cocoa you’ve ever experienced at home! Using my Kalorik water cooker, I can usually have a hot cup of gourmet cocoa in less than four or five minutes.

Simply mix up your hot cocoa as usual. Now comes the hardest part; deciding which amazing flavor of Torani syrups you want to use to spice up your hot cocoa. It really depends on my mood which flavor I want at the time. The peppermint is relaxing, the gingerbread is nostalgic, and the Salted Caramel is pure heaven! I’m also dying to try the coconut, hazelnut, peanut butter, and raspberry.

There is a bit of a trick to adding Torani syrup to your hot cocoa. It has directions on each bottle, but I found that using the full amount is often far too sweet and overpowering for my one simple cup of hot cocoa. It may be perfect for a drink like coffee; but I really wouldn’t know that as I don’t drink coffee. But for Hot cocoa, as it is already sweet and easily is swayed in it’s flavor you want to be more careful adding it to the drink.

I simply start with about a quarter to half the recommended directions. Stir the Hot cocoa and then taste it to see if it needs more or if it’s perfect. Then you just keep slowly adding more and more until it reaches the level you like most.

Once you have the hot cocoa and Torani syrup mixture perfect, simply top with whipped Cream! Now you have an inexpensive cup of gourmet hot cocoa and all without having to leave your home!

Invite your friends over for a girls night in, or afternoon hang out! Serve them your homemade gourmet hot cocoa along with some shortbread cookies and watch as they all praise you and beg for your secret!

You will never have to go to the coffeehouse for your gourmet drinks again! I absolutely love using Torani in my hot cocoa and quite often I can’t drink a plain-jane cup any longer! It needs that extra pizzazz of Torani syrups. I guess I’ve developed a rather sophisticated pallet when it comes to my hot cocoa. I’ve been rather spoiled. I have been using it for over a year now. It’s rather hard to go without it.

Discover more gourmet coffeehouse drink recipes!

I mentioned that Torani is often used in many different drinks, not just hot cocoa or coffee. One such drink that I’m just dying to try out are the Italian Sodas! Just1-2 tablespoons of a select Torani syrup, sparkling water and possibly a little half and half or cream and you have it!

Since I already have a Sodastream to make my own sparkling water; all I need is the Torani orange syrup and the raspberry syrup! Just think how much money you could save, not spending $3-$4 for an Italian Soda in the coffee shop or restaurant!

Want even more ideas? Torani has a vast collection of Recipes to help you make the most use of any Torani syrup you choose to try! You can sort by flavor, type of drink, color, or even food type (such as appetizers, desserts, salads, etc.). Also be sure to follow Torani on Facebook and Twitter for more great ideas and perks! Right now you can even get a $1 OFF coupon from their Facebook page for the Holidays!

How do you use your Torani syrups?

What flavor would you want to use in your Gourmet Hot cocoa?

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Disclosure: I received a sample of Torani Syrup  in a collaboration with SheSpeaks & Torani at no charge to facilitate this review in hopes that I would mention it on my site. No other compensation was received. All opinions are 100% my own and were not influenced. I only recommend products and services I use myself and believe will be good for my readers.