Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Cocoa Tea
Grenada's spiced breakfast cocoa, brewed from grated local cocoa balls with cinnamon, nutmeg, and bay, richer and less sweet than hot chocolate.
Grenadian · easy · serves 4
prep 5 min · cook 15 min
~146 cal · 5g protein · 32g carbs · 4g fat · 5g fiber · 24g sugars · 2g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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On Grenada, the Spice Isle, many people start the day not with coffee but with cocoa tea, a spiced hot cocoa brewed from the island's own beans. Grenadian cocoa is dried, roasted, ground to a paste with local spices, and rolled into balls or sticks; a piece is grated and steeped in hot water much as coffee is brewed, which is why it is called a "tea".
Because the cocoa balls hold the cocoa butter as well as the solids, the drink is surprisingly rich even made with water, and it is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a bay leaf, with sugar and often a little condensed milk stirred in. Far from the sugary hot chocolate of a tin, cocoa tea has the deep, near-bitter character of real dark chocolate warmed with spice.
Nutmeg is Grenada's emblem and cocoa its other great crop, so a mug of spiced cocoa tea is the island in a cup. Made on water it is vegan; the condensed milk many add makes it richer.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1/2 cup grated cocoa (from a local cocoa ball or stick)
Hard to find? 100 percent cacao paste or unsweetened cocoa mass - nearest to a Grenadian cocoa ball; plain cocoa powder works but is thinner and less rich because it lacks the cocoa butter
4 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
to taste freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup, or to taste sugar
1/4 cup condensed milk, to enrich (optional)
Instructions
1
Bring the water to a boil with the cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and grated nutmeg.
✎ Chef’s note
Steeping the grated cocoa in spiced water, the way coffee is brewed, is what makes it a "tea" rather than a milky hot chocolate.
2
Add the grated cocoa and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, stirring, until it melts and the drink turns dark and rich.
3
Sweeten with sugar, and stir in condensed milk if you want it creamy.
4
Let it settle for a moment, then strain out the spices and pour into mugs.
St. George's tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
St. George's. Grenada grows a large share of the world's nutmeg on trees brought over in the nineteenth century, and the fruit gets used twice: the seed as nutmeg, the red lacy web around it as mace. The outer flesh, which most of the world discards, is made here into jam and into a syrup for drinks.
🗺️
Grenada. Oil down is named for what happens in the pot: the coconut milk cooks away until only the oil is left in the bottom, and everything above it, breadfruit, callaloo, salted meat, dumplings and turmeric, has absorbed the rest. It is cooked outdoors in quantity for a crowd rather than portioned as a meal.
🌍
North America. North America's table began with Indigenous foodways, the "three sisters" of corn, beans, and squash, plus chiles, tomatoes, and cacao, then layered on colonial, African, and immigrant influences. From Mexico's UNESCO-recognized cuisine to the Cajun and Creole pots of Louisiana and the fiery jerk of the Caribbean, the region turns ancient staples into something new. Barbecue, tacos, gumbo, and mole all carry stories of migration and adaptation.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Grenada
Oil DownGrenada's one-pot national dish: breadfruit, salted meat, dumplings, and callaloo cooked down in coconut milk and turmeric.
Cocoa Tea and Fried BakesSpiced local cocoa simmered into a rich, cinnamon-scented "tea," served with hot fried bakes, breakfast on the Spice Isle.
Grenadian Nutmeg Ice CreamA cool, creamy ice cream fragrant with fresh-grated nutmeg, showcasing the spice that defines the Isle of Spice.
Browse all Grenada recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Grenada meal
Grenadian Curried LambiDinner
Grenadian Nutmeg Ice CreamDessert
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Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Cocoa Tea?
Grenada's spiced breakfast cocoa, brewed from grated local cocoa balls with cinnamon, nutmeg, and bay, richer and less sweet than hot chocolate.
Where does Cocoa Tea come from?
Cocoa Tea is a Grenadian dish from St. George's, Grenada.
Can Cocoa Tea be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Cocoa Tea recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Cocoa Tea safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Cocoa Tea take to make?
About 20 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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