Raw Cacao Nibs

Organic cocoa beans are considered the a good way to incorporate this valuable food into one's diet. Cacao beans can be taken as a convenient snack or within smoothies or cake preparation. They can also be used to make cocoa bean granules or cocoa powder depending on how they are ground.

Our cocoa comes from organic farming. You can find cocoa in bean, grain or powder form. Cacao beans keep all the nutritional properties of cocoa intact thanks to low-temperature drying. Cocoa beans are cleaned and sorted according to size, shelled (stripped of the film that surrounds them) and then crushed. The flavor profiles of cocoa can be countless and must be intense and persistent. To the touch (by touch we mean the tactile sensations perceived by our tongue in contact with cocoa) we must recognize the fineness and roundness of the cocoa, while astringency, that is, the sensation of decreased salivation, must be almost absent.

Cocoa is what Linnaeus called Theobroma, from Theos meaning “god” and broma “food,” or food of the gods. The richness of this plant is surely contained mainly in the beans enclosed in its fruit (cabosse). Broad beans can be eaten raw, or they can be ground into grains or powder depending on the type of consumption.

Cacao is a tropical tree whose natural habitat takes place in the lower layer of the rainforest. All cacao species need regions where temperature and humidity are high, rainfall is intense and shade is dense. The plant grows only below 1,000 m altitude, on slightly acidic and moist, but well-drained soils. It finds, therefore its favorable habitat in tropical forests, where it finds a constant year-round climate, with abundant rainfall well distributed throughout the year.

To prepare ceremonial-style chocolate, cacao nibs can be gently roasted to enhance their aroma, then finely ground into a paste. During grinding, the natural cacao butter is released, creating a smooth, rich cacao mass that can be used as the base for ceremonial chocolate preparations.