Everyone, hear this! There’s news from The Hot Chocolate Bar in Diagon Alley! (That’s us: Jeremy and Lauren) We have given a special tribute to one of our favorite professors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with her own specialty menu; Professor Cybil Trelawny, a strange woman to some, but a valued member of staff. She always hung around her attic-classroom gazing into her telescope or her crystal ball with a cup of tea ready for you to read. We give you our Special-Tea-Lawny Menu! Hurrah!! We’ve perfected our double boiling method now with an infusion of tea leaves. This procedure took the most of our time, so we only have 3 student cups for the tasting, but they are a formidable preview with more to come. No further adieu! These folks are craving chocolate! Fire up the stove! *Lacarnum Inflamare!* <poof!>
Neville may have been clumsy at first, but if he could stand up to his friends, persevere through countless setbacks and find the strength to fight in the battle of Hogwarts all while his parents were residing in St Mungo’s, (especially with a surname like LONGBOTTOM) it truly proves him to be a hero in his own rite. He had a green thumb for herbology, so we’ll start with a green tea milk base. A local witch from Saratoga Springs NY makes chocolate bars with green tea and they’re scrumptious. It does wonders for the brain with its L-theanine, antioxidants, and boosts the metabolic rate. We asked Madam Pomfrey about it and she showed us this list. 3-5 cups a day works wonders, but do keep your iron levels in check, and politely decline if your pregnant, or taking blood pressure medicine. Let’s see, a white chocolate for his sweet and innocent disposition, a swirl of honey for his pure heart of gold and a soft marshmallow coating as a nod to his sticky situations. We say Neville’s Nightingale is perfect for a spring gala. Serve it with a smile soft as a baby’s blanket.
Now for something invigorating, Finnegan’s Fire will do the trick. As his name suggests, Seamus is an Irish lad with a magical mum and a muggle dad. He usually shouts first and thinks about it later. Once he comes back to his senses, he’ll go back to being a pal and give you a reason to smile. Just don’t insinuate about him or his family. Seamus has a fiery temper. Remember that rum incident from 1st year? He always did have “a particular prolificacy for pyrotechnics”.
Milk chocolate gets a bit tricky when it’s old. Once you start melting it, there’s a grainy fudginess from the dried out lack of fat from sitting so long. Just add some butter while it’s still melting and whisk in gracefully. We’re using Irish whisky tea mixed with paprika and cayenne pepper to give it that taste like a phoenix on a burning day. These muggle popping candies sure come in handy. What’s a Seamus Finnegan trick without explosions? Just be mindful of how long the cup stands. Be Careful! That pepper will burn hotter and spicier the longer it sits! Serve it no longer than 2 minutes after it’s done!
Lastly, let’s end on a more gentle note, something with grace and poise but still dripping with emotion just like our last hot chocolate for today, Cho Chang. She was rather quiet, so nothing too out-spoken. Let’s double up on the chocolate for the extra endorphins. Brew it slowly! She needs time to heal. After all, she saw Cedric being brought out of the maze, dead. Not to mention, she had to grieve while guiltily dating Harry and all of those guilty twinges about kissing the wizard who couldn’t save him. It’s a wonder she could fly in a straight line in her 6th year with so much unbalanced. What hers needs is a chocolate tea, stewed into a dark chocolate, spike it with vanilla. Not too much!! That doesn’t come cheap!! (10 gallions per bottle at the cheapest!) Very good, but the one thing no sour-face can resist is a covering of whipped cream. As a nod to her Asian heritage, I’ve designed the chocolate and regular whipped cream in the form of a yin-yang sign symbolizing harmony in opposing forces such as her wise Ravenclaw head and her passionate heart. Last comes a blue sprinkled line in between for house pride and to prevent the cream from smearing.
Bear in mind we are still experimenting with different flavor combinations and we would appreciate any comments about anything we’ve done so far. If all goes well (as we hope) then we can expand into more diverse options. We hope you enjoy our latest brews if you have any suggestions or ideas, send us your owl to the comments section.
