Mocha Mexicano & A Giveaway (Paleo, Gluten-free, Vegan)

This mocha mexicano is full of warm spices, and packs a subtle punch thanks to a little cayenne pepper.  It's inspired by ingredients from Rodelle Vanilla and Taza's Fire Puncher chocolate.

This summer, my vegan & paleo strawberry ice cream was a runner-up in Rodelle Vanilla's Great American Ice Cream Contest, and the prize was a basket of Rodelle Baking Goodies.  I asked the wonderful folks at Rodelle if they would include a few extra goodies for you all, and they said yes!  I picked up a couple of other treats over at Taza Chocolate yesterday, and am beyond excited to bring you a vanilla and chocolate giveaway.

Prize basket

One winner will receive a prize basket including:

• Two whole Madagascar Vanilla Beans from Rodelle
• A 6-ounce bottle of Rodelle Pure Madagascar Vanilla Extract
• A 2-ounce bottle of Rodelle Organic Chocolate Extract
• A 2-ounce bottle of Rodelle Anise Extract
• Two discs of Taza Chocolate's Organic Fire Puncher 70% Dark Chocolate Mexicano (2.7 ounces)
• A bag of Taza's Organic 55% Dark Chocolate Covered Cacao Nibs (2 ounces)
• A recipe card for Molten Spiced Chocolate cake and a Direct Trade pamphlet from Taza

Rodelle is such a great company.  They offer a variety of baking essentials, many of which are organic, plus unique products like anise extract and lemon extract.  They also have lots of fabulous recipes on their website.  Their products are made in a wind-powered facility, and a portion of their proceeds support the Trees, Water, and People organization's environmental and reforestation initiatives.

Taza Chocolate's factory is right near me in Somerville, Massachusetts, and all their chocolate is organic and stone-ground.  They purchase Direct Trade certified cacao, and their products are free of gluten, dairy, and soy.  That's hard to find in chocolate these days!  I visited the factory store yesterday for their Día de los Muertos celebration--see below for photos of the event and more about Taza.

My mocha mexicano is inspired by their Fire Puncher chocolate, which has quite a kick to it thanks to a bit of chili powder.  Scroll down to see my recipe, or click here to see how to make chocolate mexicano if you can get your hands on some Taza chocolate.

At Taza's día de los muertos celebration, there were food trucks, mariachis, face painters, and lots of samples.  One of my friends got a plantain cone filled with chicken, bacon, and pineapple from Latin Spoon.  She had to wait for almost 30 minutes for it, but it looks like it was worth it.

This pork taco from Happy Taco may not look like much, but it had sriracha caramel sauce on it!  I was totally sold on that sauce and need to figure out the recipe.

Inside Taza's store, there were more samples and lots of fun decorations.  I didn't actually tour the factory since it was so crowded, but plan to go back soon to see the chocolate making in action.  You can even buy a whole cacao pod there!  I thought about buying one for the giveaway, but wasn't sure if it was the most user-friendly prize, so I opted for already-made chocolate products instead.

Without further ado, here's the mocha mexicano recipe.  Feel free to leave out the cayenne if you're not into that, or substitute your favorite chili powder.  You can also replace the coffee with more milk to make a Mexican hot chocolate, but you might need a little more cocoa to amp up the flavor.

Ingredients (makes a generous mocha for one):

1 tablespoon cocoa (I used Rodelle's Dutch Process Cocoa)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon chocolate extract (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of salt
4 teaspoons coconut sugar or brown sugar, or to taste
1/2 cup hot coffee
1 cup hot milk or almond milk

In the bottom of a large mug, place the cocoa, extracts, spices, salt, and sugar.  Add the hot coffee, and let the mixture sit for a minute so the cocoa can bloom (sitting in hot liquid brings out the chocolate flavor).  Stir until everything is dissolved.  Add the hot milk and stir again.  Adjust seasonings as desired and serve hot.

This giveaway has ended.  Thank you to everyone who entered!  The winner was Christopher S.  I have another giveaway in the works for next month, so stay tuned!

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