<p>We are bringing hot chocolate for 75 people, and I was wondering if this can be made ahead of time and transported in an insulated container. Its usually used to keep cold beverages, well, cold. Would the reverse work?</p>
<p>possibly but thats a lot of people
that should work- preheat it first with hot water-</p>
<p>Yes, I did think about doing that. Its a coat distribution, and me and my big mouth offered to do that.</p>
<p>Sure - it’s insulated, isn’t it?
And to think you call yourself a chocoholic!</p>
<p>har har har ^ ^ ^ how embarassing to get called out like that :o</p>
<p>i should never have asked that question under my own name!!!</p>
<p>yeah, i’m not the liquid addict</p>
<p>Newspaper is also a terrific insulator so if you have any doubt pack your container in newspaper for the trip.</p>
<p>I’m just wondering if a huge coffee-type percolator would work - is it possible to make it on the spot instead of having to transport it?</p>
<p>There will be no access to outlets or hot water at this distribution center. We may actually be outdoors on a Church lawn. In any case, I am nervous about messing with a large quantity of hot chocolate in front of 100 cold people, and would rather arrive prepared.</p>
<p>Last year when a bunch of friends and myself went caroling, we came home to find that my parents had rented one of those huge cooler-like things, only they were insulated so they could be used for hot drinks. Might work for you.</p>
<p>Does it have to be real milk? An easy way is to just fill a coffee percolator with boiling water, and have them put boiling water into cups that have Swiss Mix or whatever, mixable with water.</p>
<p>Hot milk is harder because you don’t want milk to boil; it forms a skin.</p>
<p>The water mix doesn’t taste nearly as good as milk, so it depends on the crowd.</p>
<p>Could you get milk reasonably warm, fill that 2/3 of the way and then zing it with really boiling water? Use Whole Milk and then they won’t notice the sneaking in of the boiling water so much.</p>
<p>I’m absolutely just making this up now; have never tried to serve hot choc outside to a crowd. I think you are extremely brave. I hope you are praised to the skies for this. </p>
<p>At home I just adore hot milk from a microwave, with or without chocolate, because I still remember boiling over the milk on the old saucepans. I treasure small improvements.</p>
<p>EDIT: Can people have access to a microwave in the church kitchen, one by one, to reheat their cup in a microwave? I guess you’d have to have someon frm your project stand by the microwave to ensure nobody just wanders the churhc, but just goes in and out for use of the microwave…tricky.</p>
<p>Thanks P3T, and everyone else. I wish I had given this more thought yesterday.</p>
<p>Ofcourse hot chocolate is yummier made with milk. But we are just trying to provide a hot beverage to people lined up for a free winter coat. So I will settle for hot water. Ugh. Chocoholic that I am, I feel awful that its not made with real Dutch cocoa, whole milk, cinnamon and a dollop of cream.</p>
<p>But we will do that next weekend for a smaller group of unfortunates.</p>
<p>The good thing is that my van will also be loaded with coats, so bonus insulation around the container.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My return address labels have written on them, just above our personal information (like a ransom note… each word individually cut out of a magazine): Hand over the chocolate and no one will get hurt</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Reporting back…
I prepped the cooler by pouring gallons of boiling water inside and letting it sit while I made hot chocolate.</p>
<p>Boiled 4 gallons whole milk in man-sized pots, then cheated with instant cocoa powder, dash of salt and cinnamon, and poured into cooler. (after dumping out hot water, ofcourse).</p>
<p>Packed into trunk of minivan, surrounded by 125 winter coats.</p>
<p>Made some people really happy, who had just shown up for their weekly pick-up of canned/boxed food, to find a surprise of winter coat shopping (free, of course), and a cup or 2 or 3 of yummy h.c. We got lots of compliments.</p>
<p>It was funny how many people had never had h.c. before. I attempted to say HC in many languages.</p>
<p>That is SUCH a beautiful story. Thanks for writing your solution to the h.c. dilemma. </p>
<p>It sounds like hard work, but you got a lot accomplished: delivering essential warm coats (sounds like to newcomers not experienced with cold, or poor people); nurturing them as one to another with the ONLY way to improve on mother’s milk (CHOCOLATE); and respecting others by trying out their language.</p>
<p>What a day! How will you celebrate (let me guess…)</p>
<p>Im glad every thing went well- what a nice treat :)</p>
<p>( However- I was also going to mention that powdered apple cider mixes very well with hot water and actually stays hotter longer than hot cocoa incase anyone else is so moved to warm large bunches of people at a time)</p>
<p>I’m curious about what languages/cultures don’t have the hot chocolate tradition? The Mexicans started it; the Europeans all drink hot chocolate… Was it Asian cultures that had never had it? African? I know many Asians and Africans don’t drink milk after childhood because they lose the lactase enzyme.</p>
<p>Good for you chocoholic! After your post, we went through the closets and found about 5 winter jackets in all sizes. Off to the shelter they go!
Thanks!</p>
<p>It was such a special day for us. Very moving too see such gratitude in peoples’ eyes. I wish we did things like this more often, but unfortunately there’s always “something else”.</p>
<p>dmd77, the people that seemed new to hot chocolate appeared to be Central/South American and Asian. Maybe its available in their countries, but unaffordable? Idk.</p>
<p>Good job on the coat donation woody. What I found out a few years ago, is that the large dumpster bins that one finds in strip mall or grocery store parking lots are usually commercial ventures, where the owner pays a royalty to the township, and all the donations are sold for profit. I know that in our town, the dumpster owner is raking it in.</p>
<p>Good deeds all around!</p>
<p>Your communication efforts reminded me of my son’s experience in Japan, trying to order “hot chocolate” from a largely non-English-speaking waitress. He & friends discovered if you “Japanise” words, often they can be understood. So…hottu chocoricu it was. :)</p>