Best RecipesKoko Samoa - Samoan cocoa News Recipes

By panipopos

It's here! It's here!

My koko Samoa is finally HERE!

Thanks to my beautiful sister, D, I have two quality blocks of koko samoa standing on my kitchen table. I mean REAL Samoan koko! On my kitchen table. I feel like throwing a party because I haven't had Samoan koko since...I can't even remember the last time, and now it's right HERE.
On. My. Kitchen. Table.

Those who have never tasted it are probably asking "What's the big deal about koko samoa?".

Well, you will only appreciate my answer if you are a chocoholic, or a coffeeholic. Because koko samoa is the best that both these beverages have to offer.

Koko samoa is made from Samoan cocoa beans, considered a premium cacao bean because there is no trace of bitterness in it's products. This makes it ideal for drinking.

But koko samoa is the kind of drink that you either love or hate. You'd love it because of it's deep chocolatey aroma and flavour. You'd love it because it packs one hell of a caffeine kick. You'd love it if you grew up with it because it's a smell and taste that is unique to Samoa and Samoans. On the other hand, you'd hate it if you didn't like chewing on grinds while you drink. You'd hate it if you drank it as a kid, then forgot to brush your teeth before you went to school, and then spent the day grinning and laughing your head off before realising you had all the grinds stuck in your teeth. And you'd probably hate it if you were the one that was always stuck pounding the beans.

Nevetherless, koko samoa is truly an original, local product. Samoans pick their own beans, roast them, pound them and then leave the grinds to dry into hardened blocks. Whenever the desire for koko samoa comes up, part of the block is chipped off or grated and then mixed with boiling water and sugar for a hot, satisfying drink.

Koko samoa is so integral to Samoan life, that the cocoa plant is protected by law. The Cocoa Disease Ordinance of 1961 makes it illegal to bring any cocoa plant or seeds into Samoa that might carry pests that threaten the locally grown trees. (After blight almost wiped out the country's taro industry, I bet they're taking this one seriously.)

When I finally stop sniffing my blocks of koko and put them down, I'll take photos and start cooking with them, because this, my friends, just took our blog to a whole other level.

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