What is cacao and what is chocolate? How do they differ?

What's cacao and what is chocolate? How do they differ?

Cacao is the source of all chocolate. It is the bean, the powder, or the paste, but it is unheated, hasn’t gone through any high-pressure industrial grinding machine and is not mixed with refined sugar and milk. The cacao bean in its whole form looks sort of like a coffee bean but it is much larger. They come in various sizes and colors. Generally they are brown with a hint of purple. The best ones I have had are a very deep brown. Raw cacao powder has had some of the cocoa butter pressed out until it leaves the powder. Cacao powder can be a mixture of different beans blended to create a desirable flavor. Cacao nibs are cacao beans crushed up, usually the outer shell is removed from the bean to package cacao nibs, but this is not necessary as the outer shell is edible. Chocolate on the other hand is my term for highly processed, mass manufactured chocolate, whether it is 50%, 60%. 70% or more is not my concern. I am more interested in the whole bean, powder and nibs, before they go through the high heat and cylinders of industrial chocolate processing. The high pressure and high temperatures kill the vitamin C content and damage the anti-oxidant content of real cacao.

You can add low glycemic (and no-glycemic) sweeteners to cacao and avoid the crash that regular off the shelf chocolate with highly refined sugar will likely cause in a sensitive body. Try creating a smoothie or tea with raw cacao powder, adding cacao nibs to your breakfast cereal or yogurt, or just dip a bean in honey for amplified nutrient value and you might find yourself crazy for cacao also.