As the weather gets cooler and the nights get longer, our cravings change. One of the most popular beverages during fall and winter is hot chocolate, and if you’re a cannabis enthusiast, you might be surprised to learn that you can create your own infused version of your favorite seasonal drink. In this guide, we’re going to help you DIY some cannabis hot chocolate, so you can satisfy all your cravings in one hot mug.

THC hot chocolate is your favorite mug of hot chocolate—whether it’s made from scratch or something a little more instant, like Swiss mix—infused with cannabis or cannabinoids like THC. Ultimately, THC hot chocolate is a drinkable edible just like cannabis tea, and it’s a great way to enjoy cannabis without smoking or vaping. Because it has THC in it, it should still be treated like a dose, so it’s important to ensure that you know how much THC is in your mug so you don’t accidentally indulge too much.

How to Make Cannabis-Infused Hot Chocolate

Making cannabis-infused hot chocolate is like making marijuana brownies—it can be as easy or involved as you want it to be. If you love making your hot chocolate from scratch and want to include marijuana in your recipe, we suggest following these three easy steps:

In order to get the effects you want from your cannabis hot cocoa, you’re going to need to decarboxylate your marijuana. Decarboxylation is the process that turns your bud from a pretty little nugget into the intoxicating flower you’re looking for. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to do with an oven, low heat, and patience. Check out our decarboxylation guide for step-by-step instructions.

Now that your marijuana is decarboxylated, here’s what you’re going to need:

• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp white, granulated sugar
• ½ tsp of finely ground, decarboxylated marijuana
• ⅛ tsp vanilla extract
• ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
• Coconut oil or butter (some type of fat)
• Your favorite milk (dairy or nondairy)
  
  

If you’d rather use cannabutter or cannaoil, skip the ground cannabis and coconut oil or butter, and add your canna-ingredient instead.

Just like when you’re baking with cannabis, you’re going to want to whisk all your ingredients together. Then, add them to a pot and heat them up. Cannabinoids need a fat to bind to, so you don’t want to skip the oil or butter. After about 15 minutes on medium heat, strain the mixture and pour it into your mug. Now, you’ve got a steaming cup of THC hot chocolate.

Remember when we said you can make marijuana hot chocolate the easy way too? This is going to be the guide for you if you’d rather not be in the kitchen for almost an hour just to make a cup of hot cocoa. Here are three ways to enjoy THC hot chocolate in 10 minutes or less:

Melt Cannabis Chocolate

If you like a more classically-prepared cup of hot chocolate, you can look no further than your favorite edible chocolate bar. Just melt the chocolate bar on low heat and add your milk and any spices you want. Gently stir them together until mixed and hot, and then pour the concoction into your favorite mug. If you want a lower-dose hot chocolate, just add a piece of your canna-chocolate bar and then a larger hunk of your favorite non-marijuana chocolate. This will ensure you still get a cozy cup without all the THC.

Use Cannabis Tincture

If you’re not interested in sacrificing your favorite recipe of hot chocolate, then just add cannabis to it. All you do is make your recipe as you like it, and then add a couple drops of your tincture into the mug and stir. This will turn your favorite recipe into an edible without having to learn any new steps. 

Note, if your tincture still has its terpenes in it, you may notice a marijuana flavor. You can add a spicy pepper, like cayenne, to the mug, or you can opt for a cannabis distillate that will only have THC and no flavor in it.

Add Cannabutter

If you’ve already made our cannabutter recipe, you can just add a bit of cannabutter to your existing hot cocoa recipe. This will make your favorite recipe that much richer and add THC to it. 

If you aren’t interested in making cannabutter, you can always buy it from your favorite dispensary.

While it’s always better not to make too much extra THC hot cocoa, so you can enjoy it when it’s fresh, sometimes it’s nice to have a cup on hand when you want it. In this case, you’ll want to make a batch, clearly label it, and store it. To do this, you’re going to need an air-tight container where you can pour your pre-made THC cocoa once it’s cooled. Then, if you plan to enjoy it in a couple days, put it in the fridge. If you plan on enjoying it over a couple of months, put your marijuana hot chocolate in the freezer. 

If you’re putting them in the freezer, make sure your container is sealed tight and you can even wrap the container to ensure freezer burn doesn’t set in and ruin your flavors. 

Questions about cocoa? Here are a few answers that might be helpful:

Can I add raw cannabis flower to hot chocolate?
Technically, yes, you can, but you’re not going to get much out of it. Flower has to be decarboxylated, and the chances of your pre-made hot chocolate keeping your flower hot enough, long enough, to be worth it is unlikely. We recommend following our steps above or just adding a tincture or cannabutter to your already-made hot chocolate.

How much THC hot chocolate should I drink?
You should dose your THC hot chocolate much the same way you would an edible. You want to be able to enjoy your hot chocolate but you don’t want to overdo it, so make sure that you factor in your strain’s potency and how much you’ve used into what you pour into a mug.

Will my hot chocolate taste like marijuana?
Unless you’re adding a pure THC distillate to your hot chocolate, meaning, all the terpenes have been stripped so there is no flavor, your hot chocolate will taste at least slightly like marijuana.

The great thing about cannabis cravings is that you can get what you want to satisfy those cravings in a variety of ways. You can make your own THC hot chocolate from scratch with your favorite strain of flower or you can find pre-made cannabis hot chocolate at your local dispensary. Talk to your budtender about what you’re interested in making and they can help you find the cannabis products you’ll need to make it happen.