Best 100% cocao products

charl152526 wrote: »

I hear you, so what exactly is the difference between the two?!

charl152526 wrote: »

So there’s literally no difference between the way it is formed from the bean? I really believed what I read!

Cacao powder is made by cold-pressing raw cacao beans, while cocoa powder is made from beans that have been roasted when processed. The difference is fairly minimal from a flavor perspective, and cacao powder can be substituted with a 1:1 ratio for cocoa powder.

apullum wrote: »

charl152526 wrote: »

I hear you, so what exactly is the difference between the two?!

The use of “cocoa” vs “cacao” is often just marketing. Companies think that the term “cacao” has a different connotation to customers—that customers will think it is somehow healthier, more natural, etc. The “real” definition usually has something to do with which steps in the chocolate-making process the cacao beans have been through as @aokoye said.

In reality, almost all of the products on the market are made from roasted, fermented cacao beans.

The fermentation step in the cacao process is necessary. It helps kill off any bacteria naturally on the cacao bean, and it develops flavor. I have not personally tried an unfermented cacao bean, but I’ve talked to others who have. It didn’t sound like an amazing experience. I would be skeptical of anything claiming to be unfermented cacao.

This fermentation process also causes the beans’ temperature to rise quite high, well above what many people consider “raw.” I would therefore be very skeptical of anything claiming to be “raw” chocolate, simply because many people associate the term with food that has not been heated over a particular temperature. The way the term is used in chocolate marketing does not match how it is used outside that context.

The roasting process is standard, but some companies now skip it. This simply makes for a chocolate that tastes different. I’ve had unroasted chocolate; it’s interesting. When companies claim Chocolate is “raw,” they typically mean it is unroasted. I would not trust anything claiming that chocolate is healthier if it’s unfermented, unroasted, or “raw.”

In general, claims that chocolate has numerous health benefits are exaggerated. Chocolate is lovely. It has some vitamins and minerals. Eaten in moderation, it is also not going to do anything special for your overall health. I would be very skeptical of anything claiming that chocolate, or any other food, has dramatic health benefits.

There is a lot of bad information on the internet about chocolate as well as anything else. Be vigilant about evaluating the quality of your sources.

apullum wrote: »

charl152526 wrote: »

I hear you, so what exactly is the difference between the two?!

The use of “cocoa” vs “cacao” is often just marketing. Companies think that the term “cacao” has a different connotation to customers—that customers will think it is somehow healthier, more natural, etc. The “real” definition usually has something to do with which steps in the chocolate-making process the cacao beans have been through as @aokoye said.

In reality, almost all of the products on the market are made from roasted, fermented cacao beans.

The fermentation step in the cacao process is necessary. It helps kill off any bacteria naturally on the cacao bean, and it develops flavor. I have not personally tried an unfermented cacao bean, but I’ve talked to others who have. It didn’t sound like an amazing experience. I would be skeptical of anything claiming to be unfermented cacao.

This fermentation process also causes the beans’ temperature to rise quite high, well above what many people consider “raw.” I would therefore be very skeptical of anything claiming to be “raw” chocolate, simply because many people associate the term with food that has not been heated over a particular temperature. The way the term is used in chocolate marketing does not match how it is used outside that context.

The roasting process is standard, but some companies now skip it. This simply makes for a chocolate that tastes different. I’ve had unroasted chocolate; it’s interesting. When companies claim Chocolate is “raw,” they typically mean it is unroasted. I would not trust anything claiming that chocolate is healthier if it’s unfermented, unroasted, or “raw.”

In general, claims that chocolate has numerous health benefits are exaggerated. Chocolate is lovely. It has some vitamins and minerals. Eaten in moderation, it is also not going to do anything noticeable for your overall health. I would be very skeptical of anything claiming that chocolate, or any other food, has dramatic health benefits.

There is a lot of bad information on the internet about chocolate as well as anything else. Be vigilant about evaluating the quality of your sources.