This is the best recipe I have created for healthy, organic chocolate syrup that I use for my mochas. It is very strong. Yes, it has calories and carbs, but the calories come from honey and cocoa powder, not processed sugar. There are studies showing health benefits of raw honey and unsweetened cacao, so I listed a few resources below. Since this syrup is so strong, a little goes a long way. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• organic cocoa power, unsweetened
• organic local honey
• organic almond (or your favorite flavor) extract (optional)
• hot water

Ratios:

I am going to use a small portion as an example, but here are the general ratios. I use 1 Tbs for my mocha in the morning.

• 1-1 for the powder to honey (ex: 3 Tbs of each)
• 1 teaspoon extract per 3 tablespoons of powder (1 tsp)
• water it little bits at a time, just enough to make a paste out of the powder (about a Tbs)

Steps:

1. Use a bowl that you can store the mixture in since it is so sticky, you don't want to have to move it to a new container
2. Sift the cocoa powder into the container
3. Add hot water a tiny bit at a time, stirring until you have a thick paste
4. Add in the extract, stir until blended
5. Add in the honey, a little at a time. It does take a little stirring to get it to mix together, but you will see when it starts to happen, then it goes quickly
6. Note: if you add more individual ingredients to get the sweetness/bitter taste you want, dry cocoa powder does not mix very easily and tends to get everywhere.
7. Store in the refrigerator

HONEY:

From http://www.webmd.com/-

"Reaching for a spoonful of honey rather than sugar to sweeten your favorite food and drinks may help boost your body's natural defenses."

From http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/ -

"The 3 key health benefits of honey are related to the fact that:

1. Honey is nature's energy booster

2. Honey is a great immunity system builder

3. Honey is a natural remedy for some ailments"

COCOA:

From http://www.bio-medicine.org/ -

"Unprocessed cocoa is reported to have huge health benefits which could run parallel to that of penicillin or anesthesia//. This was disclosed by Norman Hollenberg, professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School."

From http://www/webmd.com -

"The possible health benefits of chocolate stem from the antioxidant flavonoids. Chocolate comes from the cacao plant, and cacao is extraordinarily rich in flavanols, a type of flavonoid phytochemical. (Other plants rich in flavanols include tea, grapes, grapefruit, and wine.) That sounds simple enough, but some forms of chocolate have a lot more flavonoids than others."

I hope you enjoy this recipe and the benefits of honey and cacao!