I cant speak to its effectiveness in every recipe that calls for the much sought after Crio Bru, but I can say that when brewed as a coffee-style drink, cacao nibs are a perfectly suitable substitute for the hard-to-find and expensive Crio Bru variety.
Last weekend I was very lucky and thrilled to attend a workshop with Tenina Holder, who is quite possibly one of the people responsible for the rise in demand for this cacao by-product.
The thing is, its really hard to find in the UK. You can buy it on Amazon, but its pricey and import duties make it crazy expensive.
So whats a girl on a budget to do?
Experiment, of course.
I have bags and bags of organic cacao nibs at home, bought because of the health benefits, but not always used quite as often as I could.
I poured 25g of raw cacao nibs into the Thermomix and ground it on speed 10 for one minute. I could vaguely smell the chocolate. I then brewed the powder as I would any coffee, and tentatively took a sip. Well. It tasted of nothing. And not a very good nothing. I added sugar and milk and it tasted of nothing, with sugar and milk. Fail.
The next day I decided that to replace Crio Bru with cacao nibs, it would need to be roasted. So I lay 50g of cacao nibs on a baking tray and put it in a hot oven – 180C – for 6 minutes. I dont know why six, but six, determining that it would be best to be guided by the smell as I didn’t want burnt beans either.
Well, after about 4 mins the kitchen was filled with a beautiful chocolatey aroma and after two more minutes, the cacao nibs were a dark crunchy brown. In the Thermomix for 10 seconds at speed 10 and they were all powdered.
Two heaped teaspoons went into the Boden cafetiere, and the rest into a sealable jar. Like with any decent coffee I boiled the water, then gave it a few seconds to cool so it didn’t scald the powdered cacao nibs, poured in and left to brew for about two minutes before pouring.
The difference was amazing and immediately obvious.
I had a few sips as is, and it was fine, but then added milk and a small teaspoon of rapadura, and thoroughly enjoyed it! It does look a bit like a weak tea, but the flavour and smell are fantastic!
I know Tenina said that in time you can pick out just by taste which flavour of the Crio Bru you’re drinking, and perhaps if you’re used to drinking Crio Bru you wont like the home roasted cacao beans, but as someone without those specific beans to compare it to, I think its lovely! I’m also sure that you could subtly flavour it, perhaps with dried orange peel in the brew, or perhaps soaking the beans before roasting them (which would take longer to roast) but what I do know for sure is that raw organic cacao nibs are a perfect substitute when drinking Crio Bru.
*Tenina also recommends brewing it for 10 minutes in the Thermomix with your milk for the best flavour. I haven’t tried that yet.
(If you’re interested, these are the Cacao Nibs I use.)
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What to do with all those lovely used grounds? I’m doing a Whole30 right now so nothing treat based (beyond the amazing treat that brewed cocao beans and frothed almond milk provide) but thinking about when I’m done. Macaroons made with the grounds? Have you used them in any creative and non-sugar laden ways?
Hmmm… good question! I haven’t tried making anything with the grounds, but I do throw them in my compost bin. They are pretty nutritious and my plants seem to like them!