Between Cacao and Cocoa
Who doesn’t love chocolate? It’s a popular treat, and, as a type of superfood, it is one that’s used in practically all of the world’s favorite desserts – from cakes to cupcakes, specially blended beverages to a bevy of ice cream flavors, and so much more. But as well-loved as chocolate is, there’s long been some confusion over the base ingredient classification of the confection that mainly asks: what is the difference between “cacao” and “cocoa”? If you’re among the many who’ve asked this question, here are quick takes on what differentiates one from the other.
Their Similarities
Both cacao and cocoa are food products that’re derived from the cacao bean, which undergoes a process of drying, fermentation and certain heating processes.
Cacao beans grow from trees known as Theobroma cacao, and these trees are native to South America and West Africa. Also known to thrive in various countries in Asia, cacao pods (the fruit) are harvested from cacao trees as oval-shaped pods containing a white pulp and seeds.
The raw pods go through a multi-step process that entails allowing them to ferment, then drying them, roasting them, extracting the cacao nib or center of the bean, then grinding.
Generally, the beans are processed in “raw forms” that either take shape in paste/ mass or powdered forms, and it is from here where confectioners use them to make different types of chocolate treats.
How They Differ
“Raw” is pretty much a term that can be used to differentiate cacao from cocoa, in the sense that cacao is generally rawer compared to cocoa.
Though cacao and cocoa in powdered form generally look the same, they are different in the sense that cocoa is “raw cacao” that’s been roasted at high temperatures – which means that cocoa powder generally has lower nutritional content compared to cacao powder.
Cacao powder, on the other hand, is generally made by cold-pressing methods for unroasted cacao beans, which allows it to keep certain enzymes while taking out fat components. Between cacao and cocoa, cacao is noted to be the healthier option, since it generally doesn’t undergo processes involving heating or roasting.
In terms of taste and flavor, cacao powder tends to be not as sweet compared to cocoa – with cocoa power characterized to have a sweeter flavor. Cacao powder also contains more antioxidants compared to cocoa.
For baking, though, cocoa powder is often used because it works well with other ingredients, though it is possible to craft cakes and treats using cacao powder as base.
Both cacao and cocoa powder can be used to make blended beverages and drinks too, but cacao powder-based beverages tend to be on the thicker side compared to those that’re made with cocoa.
The Tablea
Spelled either as “tablea” or “tableya”, the Philippines is quite famed for the discshaped tablea, which is often used to make the hot chocolate drink “sikwate”.
The Department of Trade and Industry has this as the technical definition for tablea: “The Philippine tablea is defined as roasted, ground, and molded nibs of fermented pure (100%) cacao beans without added ingredients and additives.”
“It is also a cocoa mass and cocoa liquor made from cacao beans that are fermented, dried, roasted, ground then molded into blocks, balls, discs, or tablets.”
Though processed and marketed in various ways, the most definitive characteristic of tablea is that it is made to maintain elements of cocoa butter. This is mostly discernable in tablea discs having a “spotty” appearance, which are often mistaken for molds.
These spots, which widely referred to as “blooms”, are actually bits of cocoa butter that have andomly crystalized, and is considered to be an indicator of tablea that’s made in the most traditional of processes and procedures.
There are also certain tablea variations that’re made with unfermented cacao, while there are those which have been processed with certain additives like sugar too.