Hot Chocolate That Heats Itself

It was cold and rainy last night so we decided to try a new hot chocolate. It was in a can which heats itself. I had seen this technology featured in a story about canning on the History Channel. The can has the liquid, coffee, tea, soup, or chocolate, in a chamber and beneath this is another chamber with water and quicklime also known as calcium oxide. The outer cover of the can has a cover which is easy to hold even when the drink gets hot. Heating the container is simple. Turn the can upside down. Pull off the tamper proof foil bottom and push the button in. The directions are easy to follow and within 5 to 8 minutes the drink is hot. When the bottom cover is pulled off and the button pushed this allows water to run into a chamber with quicklime (calcium oxide). I was lousy in chemistry but water and calcium oxide combine into calcium hydroxide which heats the container.

When I saw this on the History Channel, I wondered if we could find this in any of the stores. The company producing these drinks is Hillside. I was suprised when we found a selection in WalMart. Now of course the way WalMart does things I won't be able to find it again. Since it comes in drinks and soup it is something that could be used anywhere. Jimmy and I stood in the kitchen last night watching the hot chocolate can just like two little kids. There is a pink dot on the side which turns white when the container is at the right temperature. I was really surprised to discover that the hot chocolate was very good. So far the company has four styles of coffee, two cocoas, two teas and two soups. The only problem, to me, is that it is a little pricey at nearly $3 each. I saw on the OnTech website that 12 packs of these are $34.99.

On the whole, I was impressed with the drink and the technology of the self heating cans. I understand that there are ways to self cool cans too. It seems to be a good idea. The FDA has deemed it safe. So the door is now open and I wonder what is next.