Hot Chocolate

Section: Hot: Chocolate, Tea and Matcha · chocolate · dairy · whisk

Setup

Glass: Warmed 230 ml porcelain

Serve volume: 230 ml

Ingredients (as the source specifies)

Hot chocolate powder 20 g
Dark chocolate sauce 10 ml
Whole milk 230 ml

Further specification

Add-ons and their effect: Whipped cream 25 ml ← +25 kcal · marshmallows, 5 pieces ≈ 15 g ← +48 kcal · chocolate shavings 5 g ← +27 kcal.

Operating procedure

Applies to: hot chocolate and other steamed specialty drinks (e.g. chai latte, matcha latte) built on steamed milk.

Target: 60–90 seconds steam time; serve within a minute of finishing.

Portion the chocolate or cocoa base (syrup, powder, or ganache) per the recipe spec, weighed or pumped, not eyeballed.
Purge the steam wand briefly and wipe it dry before inserting it into the milk.
Pull cold milk from the correct, freshly dated container into a clean pitcher sized for the volume being steamed.
Confirm the milk temperature ceiling for the drink and have a thermometer or the pitcher's thermal marker ready to check it.

Add the chocolate or cocoa base to the cup or pitcher first, measured to the recipe ratio.
Measured on a scale or by pump count — an eyeballed base is the most common cause of an inconsistent drink.
Steam the milk: introduce air briefly at the start to texture it, then submerge the tip to heat without adding further air.
Same discipline as steaming milk for espresso drinks — texture is set early, not throughout the whole steam.
Heat the milk to its target ceiling and no further — treat roughly 70°C as the point past which milk scorches and its proteins break down.
Judged by touch on the pitcher, a thermometer, or the pitcher's thermal marker — never by a fixed count alone.
Combine the hot milk with the chocolate base and stir or whisk until fully emulsified.
No floating cocoa, no gritty texture, and nothing unmixed settled at the bottom of the cup.
Check the finished drink for scorching (a burnt or flat smell, a skin forming on top) before pouring.
A scorched batch is discarded and restarted — it cannot be masked with extra chocolate or sugar.
Serve immediately, garnished per the recipe.
Milk that sits after steaming loses texture and continues to cool unevenly.

No scorched smell or taste, and no skin or film formed on top of the drink.
Chocolate or cocoa fully emulsified — no floating specks, grit, or unmixed powder at the bottom.
Milk heated to the recipe's target ceiling and no further, confirmed by touch or thermometer rather than habit.

The same milk-temperature discipline used for espresso drinks applies here: past roughly 70°C, milk proteins denature and sugars scorch, producing a flat or burnt taste that can't be corrected afterward. Monitor actively rather than relying on a fixed steam time.

Energy, derived from the ingredient list

Computed line by line against the source's own coefficient table. Nothing here is typed in.

Hot chocolate powder · 20 × 4 = 80 kcal
Dark Chocolate Sauce · 10 × 3 = 30 kcal
Whole milk 3.5% · 230 × 0.64 = 147.2 kcal

Derived total: ≈ 260 kcal

Caffeine, derived from the ingredient list

The derivation is incomplete: these lines name a caffeine carrier the source states no factor for, so no total is published - an understated safety figure is worse than none:

Hot chocolate powder 20 g
Dark chocolate sauce 10 ml

Allergens, as the source states them: `MILK` `SOY`

Holding and food safety

These figures are the published guidance, not a house rule. Each carries its source.

Chilled components: hold at or below 5 °C. The legal maximum is 8 °C.
Once a chilled component is out of the fridge, it has 4 hours before it must be discarded.

Your local authority sets the requirement. Confirm these against it before service.

Source: GOV.UK — Food hygiene for businesses (FSA guidance) — retrieved 2026-08-20