Belgian chocolate milk

I've tried a lovely chocolate milk (cold, not to be confused with hot chocolate) from Marks and Spencer (a supermarket in the UK) and I'm trying to emulate it's rich Belgian chocolate taste.

My recipe so far looks like this:

-Mixture of dark (bittersweet) and milk chocolate

-Whole fat milk and Condensed milk

-Espresso powder

-Cane sugar (or honey)

My questions:

I'm thinking of using a mixture of condensed and whole milk because the chocolate milk I tasted seems thicker than whole fat milk, but not TOO thick or cloying. The consistency I'm going for is the same as milk with a 6% or so fat content. Is this recommended or should I go with whole fat milk with a little cream?
I've decided to use espresso powder because I'm hoping a tiny bit of this will give the chocolate a teeny weeny hint of roasted coffee/espresso notes that I seem to detect from the drink. Is there any other way I can enhance the flavour of the chocolates in the drink?
I'm thinking of using a cane sugar or honey, as hopefully this may give the chocolate a slight caramel-ly taste, is this the best way of doing this?
The main part i'm stuck on is this: I'm not sure whether or not to go for a milk chocolate/dark chocolate combo (35% milk chocolate and 65% bittersweet chocolate) or just use a high quality cocoa powder like Valrhona? The aim is to go for a Belgian chocolate taste here.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Best Answer

Chocolate and cocoa powder are two different things

For drinks go with cocoa powder (Dutch process). Emulsifying the fat in chocolate is pointless and not particularly tasty. Chocolate is about 40% to 60% fat, cocoa powder is 10% to 20% fat

For the chocolate milk taste you generally want the milk fat favours, not the cocoa fat

If your cocoa powder is not bright enough, adding a little coffee will help, as will a little more roasting of the cocoa powder, but be careful, it burns quickly. I think many commercial chocolate milks use a little salt (Sodium or Ammonium) as a brightener**

In some countries you can buy "extra" or "premium dutch process" cocoa powder, it is very dark in colour, and has a lot more of that dark chocolate style flavour

** The "that tastes nice and different" reaction

Pictures about "Belgian chocolate milk"

Belgian chocolate milk - A hand holding a cup of beverage

What is Belgian milk chocolate?

Belgian milk chocolate for example has a classic milk flavor and not so much fruitiness or sourness you might find in other milk chocolate varieties. Belgian dark chocolate will have a classic fudge like earthy flavor and no sourness, fruitiness or lingering floral flavors usually.

Is Belgian milk chocolate healthy?

It's full of fiber and healthy minerals like iron, magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium.

Why is Belgian chocolate so special?

\u201cBelgian chocolate\u201d is chocolate of which the complete process of mixing, refining and conching is done in Belgium. "In addition, Belgian chocolate is finely milled to 18 microns, below the feeling of the tongue's taste buds. This avoids having a grainy taste in the mouth when the chocolate melts on the tongue.

Why does Belgian chocolate taste different?

The Belgian based companies will use artificial emulsifiers when creating their chocolate to try and achieve that same result. So the outcome is very different in both flavor and texture.