Portions: 4 portions Calories: 138kcal |
Looking for a strong, aromatic drink to carry you over the rest of the day? Look no further. This creamy and cold cocoa drink is what you need to start the day on a good foot. Easy to make, refreshing, and with flavorful spices, it's the perfect summer drink.
Why I ❤️ it • Recipe • Ingredients • Preparation

Why I ❤️ it
We are used to hot chocolate drinks, and, along with coffee, cocoa drinks are the most popular morning drinks. But what if you don't want something hot to start your summer days? I got something to please your taste buds, chocolate lovers!
I loved the creaminess and and gently-spiced flavors of this cacao morning drink, and since I have mostly quit my morning hot drinks these days (minus coffee, of course), I am always looking for that drink that punctuates my mornings, and this silky chocolate drink is quite the exclamation mark.
Cold cocoa drink recipe
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Utensils and tools

Ingredients
- 6 cups of hot water, divided
- 4 cups of whole milk
- 3 star anise
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 6 cloves
- A pinch of freshly-grated nutmeg
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons sugar (white, granulated), or to taste
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla essence (extract)
- 2 cups of crushed ice cubes
Preparation
Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.
Step 1
In a saucepan, combine half the hot water, milk, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and simmer over low flame until the liquid has reduced by half. Be careful it does not over-boil.
Once reduced, sieve and discard solids.
Step 2
In the meantime, dissolve the cocoa powder in the remaining hot water. Add sugar to taste to the hot cocoa mixture.
Step 3
Let the hot milk mixture and cocoa powder mixture cool to room temperature.
Add vanilla extract to the milk.
Step 4
Once everything has cooled, pour equal amount of the cocoa mixture into each of 4 short serving glass. Add ice, and pour equal amounts of the flavored milk into each.
Variations
You can turn this into a perfect mid-afternoon cocoa smoothie by adding two scoops of ice cream to each serving instead of ice. Top the chocolate milkshake with some chocolate shavings if you have any, or drizzle with caramel or dark chocolate syrup.
You can use your preferred sweetener or sugar substitute if you prefer to consume less sugar.
Top tips
If there's any of these spices that you do not like or wish to leave it, you can do so with no problem.

Nutritional information
Calories: 138kcal - Carbohydrates: 12g - Protein: 3gFat: 10g - Saturated Fat: 6g - Cholesterol: 30mg - Sodium: 34mg - Potassium: 167mg - Fiber: 1g - Sugar: 6g - Vitamin A: 285IU - Vitamin C: 0.7mg - Calcium: 93mg - Iron: 0.7mg
FAQs
How to dissolve cocoa powder in cold milk?
To make cold cocoa, it's best to dissolve the chocolate or cocoa into warm milk or water, as cocoa is very fat-rich and is more difficult to dissolve into cold liquids. Alternatively, you can use a hand blender to dissolve it into room-temperature liquid.
How to make cold cocoa milkshake?
Once you have dissolved the solids and cocoa / chocolate chips / chocolate into hot liquid (water, milk or cream), let it cool down to room temperature and chill / add ice or ice cream.
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Creamy and cold cocoa drink recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups of hot water divided
- 4 cups of whole milk
- 3 star anise
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 6 cloves
- A pinch of freshly-grated nutmeg
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons sugar white, granulated, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla essence extract
- 2 cups of crushed ice cubes
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine half the hot water, milk, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and simmer over low flame until the liquid has reduced by half. Be careful it does not over-boil. Once reduced, sieve and discard solids.
- In the meantime, dissolve the cocoa powder in the remaining hot water. Add sugar to taste to the hot cocoa mixture.
- Let the hot milk mixture and cocoa powder mixture cool to room temperature.Add vanilla extract to the milk.
- Once everything has cooled, pour equal amount of the cocoa mixture into each of 4 short serving glass. Add ice, and pour equal amounts of the flavored milk into each.
Originally published on Apr 24, 2015
Lola
Excellent and easy drink.
Tia Clara
Thanks for trying it!
Coffee lover
It was really tasty!! Loved to try it.