Cacao vs Cocoa
My favourite subject - Chocolate!!!!
So you are not sure what the difference is between cacao and cocoa?
It’s time to learn about both of these products and the benefits from each
After visiting South America, I got to experiment with raw chocolate beans and how to prepare them.
It fuelled my obsession with DF chocolate and how its made.
Cacao and cocoa start out the say way but it the processing that makes them different.
First of all we need to take you back to where the chocolate powder comes from – the cacao bean, which is a fruit.
The cacao bean grows in pods on a tree in tropical hot and rainy climates. These pods are then cracked open, the beans removed from the pods and placed in fermentation boxes using various processes.
You can’t buy the beans unfermented in Australia but South American cultures used unfermented green beans as an ingredient in their psychedelic brews with mushrooms! Yep, cacao bean was not used daily by every day people, it was sacred and used in rituals, to heal the ill and was used for the elite as the first stimulant to gain widespread acceptance across European countries.
To be considered ‘raw’ it is fermented and dried out at low temperatures, you can buy fermented dried whole beans with the husk on them or the whole dried beans. ‘Raw’ dried cacao beans are bitter, almost like a coffee bean.
Cocoa is when you roast the bean at high temperatures, you that you get that real chocolate aroma. This is where the difference appears with the enzyme content being reduced and it lowers the overall nutritional value. This is the same with most food, the higher temperature it is cooked the more nutrients you lose.
But if you are going to be cooking cacao, there is not really any conclusive evidence that it doesn’t lose the nutrients and is it really that much better for you? Cacao is obviously much more expensive so you make the decision what is better for you. I use organic cacao powder, butter, nibs and husks as it has the most nutritional value before you start using it. This does not refer to the sugary supermarket cocoa that is available, so much sure you read the ingredients when you are buying cocoa to get the most natural unsweetened version you can.
You can use cocoa and cacao interchangeably in your baking recipes, smoothies and raw treats. You can roast the whole bean and separate the husk to make an amazing chocolate tea with zero calories! Then you can turn the bean into cocoa nibs, chips, cocoa powder and butter and chocolate bars to name a few.
Most health benefits you read about are not coming from the chocolate bars you buy in store!
The raw (fermented and dried) cacao beans offer the most benefits:
Antioxidants help reduce toxins in the body, Cacao increase the antioxidant capacity and result in a healthier heart, which reduces the chance of heart disease. Protecting your cells against damage from free radicals, this is an antioxidant powerhouse! Antioxidants make up 10 % of the raw cocao weight
Helps regulate insulin levels
Improves your cognitive performance and boosts your mood making you happier
Rich in nutrients like Highest Plant-Based Source of Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Calcium, Zinc, Copper and Manganese. Yep, you will get the highest sources of Magnesium and antioxidants of all foods
Protects your nerve cells from damage
Reduces your risk of stroke
Lowers your blood pressure
Increase your levels of some neurotransmitters which promotes happiness, phenyl ethylamine is found is chocolate – this chemical is also released when we have feelings of love
A Natural Mood Elevator and Anti-Depressant
Here is the process the bean goes through to make your yummy chocolate!
Roasting
The reason to roast the bean has a few objectives:
Neutralizing the natural acidity of the cacao
Creates that amazing aroma of cocoa chocolate
Makes it easy to peel the bean from the husk
It lowers the humidity of the cacao bean
Winnowing
This is the process of separating the cocoa husks from the nibs. You can crush the roasted beans
once the husk is removed to create cocoa nibs. Don’t waste those husks, make your chocolate tea, smell the aroma!
Grinding
This is where the friction of two discs of the grinder (this is also called cold pressing) crushes the cocoa nibs to transform them into a semi-liquid paste which is called cocoa liquor. It is very bitter and it is used in Peru to make a delicious hot chocolate with added sweetener. The bean when grinded contains 50% cocoa butter and 50% cocoa powder. Cocoa powder is a very popular item used in baking, smoothies and so many other ways. Cocoa butter is the fatty part of the bean which is white in colour and kind of tastes like coconut oil.
Pressing
The cocoa liquor is pressed to separate the butter and powder. This creates your cocoa butter and
powder. Cocoa liquor and cocoa butter are used to make chocolate bars, along with sugar and milk (aside from dark chocolate or some organic chocolate bars).
Refining
The Cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, sugar and milk are put in machines to refine and make the chocolate consistency
Tempering
It get the shiny glossy chocolate and snap, the chocolate is tempered by pouring it on a marble slab
to cool it slowly to a certain temperature and then heating it again. It is mixed constantly while poured out to get an even temperature. The chocolate will get harder quicker and you can remove it from the moulds easier once tempered.
Moulding
Yep the last step is to transform your chocolate into bars or various shapes, cooling it down to 14 degrees Celsius so it gets hard and ready for you to eat
Currently there is a bit of a cacao shortage! Enjoying a couple of quality dark chocolate squares every now and then helps will satisfy your cravings and is healthier for you! Help the Cacao supply as the world is struggling to keep up with demand!
Is Cacao a stimulant like Caffeine?
Cacao is a stimulant, so it should be treated like coffee or high sugar foods and not consumed in the late afternoon or evening. While it does not contain the same chemical as caffeine, cacao contains stimulants of its own.
Here is a list of some chemicals/stimulants in raw cacao:
Anandamide
According to research, Anandamide can produce psychoactive stimulation as an endogenous cannabinoid.
Once fermented, in raw cacao it is present in such small amounts that you would have to eat several kilograms of chocolate to get any psychoactive stimulation.
Theobromine (xantheose)
Theobromine is a bitter xanthine alkaloid found in cacao, which has similar compounds to caffeine. Though not affecting the central nervous system like caffeine, Theobromine is an ingredient in chocolate that can stimulate a person.
Theobromine has the ability to relax the bronchial muscles, so it can be used as a cough medicine, is a diuretic and is about one-tenth the strength of caffeine.
Theobromine can be toxic to dogs and cats, so keep chocolate way from your pets!
Phenylethylamine
Another stimulant found in cacao is Phenylethylamine, which has a similar chemistry to amphetamines. It’s a natural alkaloid and releases dopamine in the brain at the mesolimbic pleasure center.
Some research believes cacao is an addictive stimulant like coffee and not a super food, you be the judge.
