The Chocolate Chipper - Chocolate Liquer

Chocolate Liquer

The two faces of chocolate liquer

For most people, when they hear the words chocolate liquer they immmediately think of a mildly alcoholic drink that is, generally, added to certain cocktails, such as a chocolate martini. But the term chocolate liquer also refers to an important part of the chocolate-making process. That's why we're here, folks, to set the record straight and make sure that everyone can keep learning something new everyday.

Chocolate liquer as a base for the chocolate we know

Every year cacao beans are harvested and the best are selected by manufacturers from all over the world. Many different varieites are blended together to obtain a rich, deep flavor. The beans are roasted at high temperatures to further develop its flavors. The beans are then shelled and the "nibs" are crushed into a thick liquid called chocolate liquer. Nibs are the part of the kernel of the bean that are ground to produce chocolate liquer. The final chocolate liquer contains only the chocolate solids and the rich, creamy cocoa butter.

From this chocolate liquor, all chocolate products are derived, with the exception of white chocolate, which is technically not chocolate at all. Just add some sugar or milk solids or additional cocoa butter and you can have any of the various forms of chocolate, including the Godiva chocolate liquer that is used to make the best chocolate drinks, like the chocolate martini.

The version and meaning of the term chocolate liquer that most of us are familiar with is also used for a variety of purposes. Many people add it to certain desserts that marry well with an alcoholic addition. There are many fine chocolate liquers from all over Europe that can be found on websites like Chocolate.com. On many of the sites that sell the best quality chocolate products you will also be able to find helpful hints and information or links to other sites that can give you many ideas about what you can do with chocolate liquer.

So what's next - diet chocolate drinks?