How to make Koko Samoa (Samoan Cocoa)

Koko Samoa, also known as Samoan Cocoa, is the hot beverage of choice among the pacific islanders of Samoa.

The drink is made from the seeds, more commonly called "beans", from the ripe fruit of the Cacao tree which is grown abundantly throughout the Samoan islands. The Cacao beans; also the main ingredient used to make cocoa powder and chocolate, are removed from the fruit and left to dry in the sun for a few days.

After the beans are dried, they are roasted until they turn to a dark brown almost blackish color. The cacao beans are then pounded (usually while still warm from roasting) and smashed until it turns into a thick black coarsely looking paste. This paste is then packaged before it cools and hardens into a solid block.

Once the paste hardens it can be grated into a powder or chipped into smaller blocks before it is added to boiling water. If not strained, bits of crushed koko beans "pegu" will remain in the drink. Most Samoans prefer to drink it this way. Once the powder is dissolved sugar is added to taste and then consumed as KOKO SAMOA!