Cacao to Cocoa: Understanding What’s Really in Your Chocolate
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Chocolate. It’s one of the most loved foods on Earth. Kids love it, adults love it — we love it (especially the dark kind!). But when it comes to your health, not all chocolate is created equal.
While we celebrate its health-promoting benefits and the joy it brings to many of our recipes, it’s also important to understand how chocolate is made, what goes into it, and how to choose the healthiest options. From the differences between cacao and cocoa to tips for picking the best bars, we’ll explore what makes dark chocolate a potential superfood — and what to watch out for.
The History of Cacao: From Ancient Traditions to Modern Treats
Cacao – An Ancient Delicacy
Cacao is the raw food used to make chocolate. It has a long history of being consumed for its exquisite flavor and was considered a luxury in ancient times. The origins of chocolate can be traced back to the Mayan civilization, which was probably the first to cultivate the cacao plant, circa 400 AD1. Recently, researchers have analyzed the genomes from years ago2.
However, the way in which native populations consumed cacao was very different from today. Cacao was used mostly as a beverage called xocolatl, with a characteristic bitter and strong taste1. Xocolatl was prepared with dried cocoa beans, ground, and dissolved in water, with cinnamon and pepper added to enhance flavor. This beverage was used back then for its well-known “invigorating and stimulating effects” rather than for its taste1.
What Is the Cacao Tree? Origins, Cultivars, and Global Production
The cacao tree we know today belongs to the genus Theobroma, derived from the Greek words theos meaning “God” and broma meaning “food” translating to “food of the Gods,” exactly what chocolate has been known for centuries3.
Theobroma originated millions of years ago in South America, in the areas East of the Andes, and has been divided into twenty-two species of which Theobroma cacao is the most widely known4.
Cacao Facts: Top Producing Countries, Growing Conditions, and Varieties
- Cacau trees are grown, and cacao products are produced in countries in a belt between 10ºN and 10ºS of the Equator, where the climate is suitable for this crop4.
- This perennial tree grows in tropical regions, primarily in West Africa (e.g., Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana), Latin America (e.g., Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru), and Southeast Asia (e.g., Indonesia and Papua New Guinea)5.
- West Africa is the main international supplier with about 75% of the bean production5.
- The largest cacao producers are Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Ecuador4.
- The Cacau tree naturally inhabits the “lower story of the evergreen rainforest’ and to encourage optimal growth climatic factors are very important, namely temperature and rainfall4.
- Cacau trees can be grown in a wide variety of soil types4.
- Cacau is characterized by four major cultivars for chocolate production: Criollo, Forastero, Nacional, and Trinitario5. However, recent findings reveal that classifying cacao into ten groups would be more accurate in distinguishing “morpho-geographic and genomic differences and similarities4.”
Cacao vs. Cocoa: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters
There is much discussion worldwide on how to use the words “cacao” and “cocoa.” To clarify, both words derive from the word Theobroma cacao, the taxonomic classification for the cacao tree6.
For some, the word “cacao” should be applied to the farm/origin level, meaning the pods, seeds, and trees of cacao, and the word “cocoa” should be used once the bean has been fermented and dried, or roasted. While others propose that the word “cocoa” should only be used after the processing of the beans into cocoa mass, liquor, or powder (separated from the cocoa butter)6.
For this blog, we are going to adopt the wording according to this definition:
- Cacao – the cacao tree and the raw, unrefined bean (raw and unprocessed)6.
- Cocoa – the bean after roasting. After roasting the bean, this can be processed into different products, such as nibs, butter, liquor, or powder6.
Why It’s Important to Know the Difference Between Cacao and Cocoa?
The taste/ flavor and nutritional profile of cacao and cocoa, assuming the classification above, differ considerably. Hence, these two different words can be used more accurately to describe a certain product or category of products.
Cacao vs. Cocoa: Taste Differences
In terms of taste and flavor profile, cacao (the raw bean) is usually described as more earthy and bitter, while cocoa (the roasted bean) tastes more like chocolate.
Cacao vs. Cocoa: Nutritional Comparison
Both cacao and cocoa have beneficial compounds, such as polyphenols and flavonoids, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. However, the roasting and processing of the beans naturally removes or reduces the content of some of these compounds, namely minerals, antioxidants, and flavanols from the final cocoa product. The content of nutrients also depends on the variety of cacao beans, geographic origin, heat, and chemicals used during processing7. In general, the raw cacao bean is considered nutritionally superior to cocoa beans and products.
How Chocolate Is Made: From Cacao Bean to Bar
Making chocolate from cacao beans involves a multistep process5,7,8.
- Harvest – the cocoa fruit contains about 30–40 seeds covered by a mucilaginous pulp.
- Fermentation – bacteria and yeast remove the mucilaginous pulp – a key step in chocolate flavor, producing aroma precursors.
- Drying – required to reduce the water content to 5-7% (to ensure stability).
- Roasting – the dried beans or nibs (i.e., beans without the outer shell) are roasted to enhance the chocolate flavor.
- Processing – the nibs are ground to convert the solid nibs into a liquid paste, named liquor. Cocoa liquor is an intermediate product, which can be further processed into a non-fat component, cocoa solids, and a fat component, cocoa butter.
The cocoa liquor is a mixture of fat (butter) and non-fat (cocoa solids) ingredients and is the main ingredient of chocolate9.
What Ingredients Are in Dark Chocolate? Understanding the Label
After the cacao beans have been processed, the basic and most common ingredients of dark chocolate are7,8:
- cocoa liquor
- sugar
- cocoa butter (the pure fat extracted from the beans)
- Emulsifiers to avoid in chocolate include soya lecithin, sunflower lecithin (E-322), monoglycerides and diglycerides of fatty acids (E-471), and ammonium phosphatides (E-442).
Choosing the Right Chocolate for Health and Taste
Chocolate is sometimes also produced with the addition of cocoa powder, which is considered one of the richest sources of polyphenols and may enhance the nutritional value of the final product – the chocolate bar9.
Other ingredients, such as milk, can be added, mixed, and then refined to produce different types of chocolate, such as dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate7,8. In general, the darker the chocolate, the higher the content of cocoa solids, and the percentage of cacao in the chocolate.
The process of making chocolate is more complex than this, however for the goal of this article, we want to keep it simple.
Connecting Dark Chocolate to Holistic Healing at An Oasis of Healing
At An Oasis of Healing, we emphasize the importance of mindful nutrition as part of a comprehensive, natural approach to cancer treatment and overall wellness. Dark chocolate, when sourced responsibly and consumed in moderation, offers antioxidant benefits that may support cellular health and reduce inflammation. However, understanding potential contaminants and choosing high-quality cacao products aligns with our commitment to safe, healing-focused dietary choices. By staying informed about what goes into your food, you empower yourself to support your body’s healing journey in harmony with the treatments and therapies we provide.
Make Informed Choices with Cacao and Cocoa
In this article you have learned about the cacao tree, the basic steps and processes that generate the chocolate bar you love, and the main differences between cacao and cocoa. You are better equipped to choose the product you want to use in your next “chocolaty” recipe adventure.
You can find many of our Recipes and answers to your concerns if you have a loved one with cancer on our Website.
References
- Verna R. The history and science of chocolate. Malays. J. Pathol. 2013;35:111–121. Available: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.mjpath.org.my/2013.2/history-and-science-of-chocolate.pdf
- Cacao analysis dates the dawn of domesticated chocolate trees to 3,600 years ago. Oct 24, 2018. https://phys.org/news/2018-10-cacaoanalysis-dates-dawn-domesticated.html, accessed Sept 4, 2024.
- ScienceDirect Topics. Theobroma – an overview. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/theobroma, accessed Aug 1, 2024.
- International Cocoa Organization (ICCO). Growing Cocoa. Origins Of Cocoa And Its Spread Around The World. https://www.icco.org/growing-cocoa/, accessed Jul 31, 2024.
- Abt E, Robin LP. Perspective on Cadmium and Lead in Cocoa and Chocolate. J Agric Food Chem. 2020 Nov 18;68(46):13008-13015. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.9b08295. Epub 2020 Apr 28. PMID: 32293881.
- Lake Champlain Chocolates. What is Cacao? https://www.lakechamplainchocolates.com/what-is-cacao/, accessed Aug 1, 2024.
- Di Mattia CD, Sacchetti G, Mastrocola D, Serafini M. From Cocoa to Chocolate: The Impact of Processing on In Vitro Antioxidant Activity and the Effects of Chocolate on Antioxidant Markers In Vivo. Front Immunol. 2017 Sep 29;8:1207. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01207. PMID: 29033932; PMCID: PMC5626833.
- Tan TYC, Lim XY, Yeo JHH, Lee SWH, Lai NM. The Health Effects of Chocolate and Cocoa: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2021 Aug 24;13(9):2909. doi: 10.3390/nu13092909. PMID: 34578786; PMCID: PMC8470865.
- Urbańska B, Kowalska J. Comparison of the Total Polyphenol Content and Antioxidant Activity of Chocolate Obtained from Roasted and Unroasted Cocoa Beans from Different Regions of the World. Antioxidants (Basel). 2019 Aug 6;8(8):283. doi: 10.3390/antiox8080283. PMID: 31390779; PMCID: PMC6720223.
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