It’s the hot chocolate of herbal teas.

If you’re craving a little comfort that won’t destroy your New Year detox or throw your diet off kilter, add Cocoa Husk Tea to your shopping list, pronto.

Made in Cork by Exploding Tree, an offshoot of Clonakilty Chocolate, this heavenly hot drink packs a serious punch… at less than four calories per mug.

With notes of buttery roasted chocolate, toasted coconut and soothing spice, it will not only crush your afternoon Curly Wurly cravings, but it might also make you feel a bit brighter, thanks to the mood-boosting natural theobromine in cocoa husk.

Cocoa butter settles the stomach and cocoa husks are a healthy source of iron, Vitamin E, magnese and copper. In fact, cocoa husk tea is up to six times higher in anti-oxidants than green tea.

“The Cacao tree’s Latin name ‘Theobroma cacao’ translates literally to ‘Food of the Gods.'” says Allison Roberts, who sources her cocoa beans from a Fairtrade farming co-operative in Ghana, West Africa.

Once the beans are sorted, roasted and cracked to separate the nib used in the store’s decadent chocolate, the husks are carefully packaged (when you open the bag, there’s no denying the glorious waft of chocolate that emerges) to be used in a tasty tea.

“We were delighted when we received our lab results showing that a comforting cup of Cocoa Husk Tea is a simple and effective way to get all of the goodness of cacao into your body so we are now making it available for you to brew at home – just like we have been for years!”

To make a cup, just pop two teaspoons of Cocoa Husk Tea in a tea strainer, add it to a mug of boiling water and allow to infuse for between five and eight minutes.

Buy a 100g bag (enough to make 40 cups of Cocoa Husk Tea) for €7.45 here. It’s also available in health food shops around Ireland including Quay Co-Op and Here’s Health.

And cancel the 3pm Dairy Milk dash.