The daily appointment with the usual tazzulella of coffee remains among the most loved pleasures by Italians. Enter the favorite bar and order an intense espresso, creamy and with an enveloping taste, for many it is a veritable ritual that can not be renounced. But there are those who went further and created something that is proposed as an alternative for those who do not want or can not drink coffee. Is called Chokkino and it is a hot drink served in a small cup composed of two simple natural ingredients: cocoa powder and water.

Chokkino speaks Italian and is the first product designed by Live Better, a young woman startup founded by Elena Luzi: "I never drank coffee in my life, every time I entered a bar I did not know what to order and ended up taking a glass of water. That's why I invented Chokkino: I wanted a coffee-like drink that would supply energy and could be drunk quickly at the bar counter".

"Free from" and nutritional properties
Inspired by the thousand-year-old Mayan tradition, Chokkino is unsweetened, milk, gluten and coffee, in line for those suffering from food intolerances. Many are concentrated in just one cup micro-nutrients, fibers, proteins, mineral salts and antioxidants. To select the cocoa to be used, one was carried out research with the University of Teramo to calculate the polyphenol content of 60 cocoa samples, molecules currently studied to understand its antioxidant potential. The chosen one is grown in the Dominican Republic using organic methods and comes from fair trade.

Cacao is the new coffee?
The cocoa espresso it could have all the credentials to replace the typical features of coffee, in fact it contains a small amount of caffeine, but it is mainly rich in theobromine, a molecule belonging to the same family of caffeine but with a gentler action on the nervous system and that gives one pleasant feeling of well-being. Among the benefits related to the consumption of cocoa that today science hypothesizes, there are among others the lowering of blood pressure, the improvement of blood circulation, the improvement of mood, the protection from UV rays, the decrease in insulin resistance and LDL cholesterol, the improvement of bacterial flora and a neuroprotective action.

Who are the new cacao addicted
From children to the elderly, to all those who do not like coffee or current alternatives, to those who can not drink it for health reasons and new ones health addicts. But was not there already barley to fulfill this function? "Those who do not drink coffee do so to avoid consuming caffeine – explains Elena Luzi – or because they do not like the taste, or even for health reasons. Chokkino contains about 11mg of caffeine so it's not good for people who consume barley as it has no caffeine. The barley has a particular taste, which not everyone loves, while cocoa has an enveloping aroma, usually much appreciated. Chokkino can be an excellent alternative to those suffering from problems such as stomach acid, because has a PH7, therefore neutral. In addition, Chokkino is a functional drink that provides energy, albeit more gently than coffee. And then cocoa is a superfoood e Chokkino contains only cocoa powder mixed with water".

If you are thinking of being able to drink an espresso cocoa even at home, at the moment it is not yet possible, but never say never. Currently exists a network of bars and cafes where Chokkino is delivered thanks to a machine developed by Live Better and called Kaya in honor of the Mokaya population, who first in 1600 BC consumed a cocoa-based drink. The instrument, through a patented process, emulsifies pure cocoa powder and water and is controlled remotely to protect the consumer on the exclusive use of the original product, to be enjoyed in its classic version, long, spotted, Choppuccino, Chokkolatte, corrected, shaken or with a whipped cream curl. I bet someone is already thinking of replacing it with coffee to prepare a tiramisu suitable for children.

Mariacristina Coppeto
February 2019
Cover photo: Pixabay