Hot chocolate & specialty drinks

Applies to: hot chocolate and other steamed specialty drinks (e.g. chai latte, matcha latte) built on steamed milk.

1. Add the chocolate or cocoa base to the cup or pitcher first, measured to the recipe ratio.
2. Measured on a scale or by pump count — an eyeballed base is the most common cause of an inconsistent drink.
3. Steam the milk: introduce air briefly at the start to texture it, then submerge the tip to heat without adding further air.
4. Same discipline as steaming milk for espresso drinks — texture is set early, not throughout the whole steam.
5. Heat the milk to its target ceiling and no further — treat roughly 70°C as the point past which milk scorches and its proteins break down.
6. Judged by touch on the pitcher, a thermometer, or the pitcher's thermal marker — never by a fixed count alone.
7. Combine the hot milk with the chocolate base and stir or whisk until fully emulsified.
8. No floating cocoa, no gritty texture, and nothing unmixed settled at the bottom of the cup.
9. Check the finished drink for scorching (a burnt or flat smell, a skin forming on top) before pouring.
10. A scorched batch is discarded and restarted — it cannot be masked with extra chocolate or sugar.
11. Serve immediately, garnished per the recipe.
12. Milk that sits after steaming loses texture and continues to cool unevenly.