What is Choffy?
Choffy is brewed cacao. Whole cacao beans, roasted and ground, brewed like coffee — and the grounds thrown away afterwards. Nothing is added: no sugar, no dairy, no flavouring. It is not cocoa powder, and it is not hot cocoa.
One ingredient
Roasted cacao beans, ground. No additives, no artificial flavours or sweeteners, no sugar.
Brewed, not stirred
You brew the grounds and discard them, the same way you would coffee. Cocoa powder dissolves into the cup; this does not.
Four single origins
Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Volta — each one roasted French, Dark or Medium.
Your brewer already works
French press, drip with a metal or mesh basket, pour over, percolator. The one rule is no paper filters.
How a bean becomes a cup
Four steps, and only the last one happens at your house.
Hand-selected beans
Premium cacao from partner estates, hand-screened so what reaches your cup is cacao and nothing else.
Roasted to the origin
Our roast masters tune time and temperature to each origin. That is the whole difference between a French roast and a Medium.
Ground and sealed
Ground to a brew grind and packaged, so the bag you open is the roast we shipped.
Brewed by you
French press, drip, pour over, percolator. How strong it comes out is your decision, not ours.
Three ways it can taste
Origin sets the character and roast sets the intensity. Almost everyone lands in one of three lanes.
Closest to coffee
Robust, roasty and dry rather than sweet. Ecuador French is the most coffee-like flavour we make, and it is where most people switching from coffee start.
Dark cacao lover
Fuller and rounder, with the bitter edge people look for in a dark roast. Ivory Coast and Volta live here.
Milder first cup
Softer and smoother, and the easiest place to begin if you do not drink coffee at all.
Every origin is roasted French, Dark and Medium — darkest to lightest, in that order. Same bean, three intensities.
These are composition facts about cacao rather than promises about you. The detail sits on the Health Benefits page.
How you brew it
If you can make coffee you can make this. The one rule is a metal or mesh filter — paper traps the oils that carry the flavour.
French press
Three minutes, then press and repeat. The most common way people brew Choffy at home.
Drip or pour over
Use the gold-tone or mesh basket your machine came with. Skip the paper filter.
Infuser or single serve
Four to six minutes in an infuser. Or brewing bags and single-serve cups compatible with Keurig® brewers.
Common questions about brewed cacao
Which Choffy should I try first?
If you are coming off coffee, start with a French roast — Ecuador French is the most coffee-like flavour we make. If you are not sure which origin you will prefer, the French Roast Variety Set gives you three of them in one box for less than buying the three separately.
How do I brew it?
Anywhere you would brew coffee, with one rule: a metal or mesh filter, never paper. French press for three minutes and repeat, drip with the gold-tone basket, pour over, or four to six minutes in an infuser. The full guide is on the How to Brew page.
How is it different from coffee?
Different bean. Coffee is a coffee bean; this is a cacao bean. Cacao's stimulant is theobromine rather than caffeine, and brewed cacao is markedly less acidic than brewed coffee. It brews the same way and drinks the same way.
Does it taste like hot cocoa?
No. Hot cocoa is cocoa powder with sugar and milk stirred in, and it is thick and sweet. This is brewed and thin, like coffee, and there is no sugar in it at all. It tastes of cacao rather than of sweetness.
Is there caffeine in it?
Cacao naturally contains caffeine as well as theobromine. We do not publish a figure for it, because it varies with origin, roast and how strongly you brew.
What people say
We love Ivory Coast Medium roast! My husband and I have been drinking Choffy for years and never grow tired of it. It is comforting on cold days when we drink it hot, and refreshing on hot days when we drink it iced.
I love everything about Volta dark roast. The smell of it while it is steeping, that first rich sip as I sit and enjoy my first cup. Perfect morning warm comforting beverage.
All of the flavors are fantastic. Can't say enough.
Not sure where to start?
The French Roast Variety Set is three 10 oz bags, one of each French roast, so you can find your origin before committing to a big bag.
See the Variety Set