It is possible that you have heard that there is a difference between "Cacao" and "Cocoa", that "Cacao" is the name when is raw and "Cocoa" is when it is processed, but, in fact, this is not completely true.

 

The word Cacao is not even a Spanish word, is a word that comes from the language of the first people in America that harvested and processed the fruit. In English, there is a trend that calls “cacao" the raw cocoa beans (beans not roasted), but according to most dictionaries in English, cacao and cocoa are interchangeable words. In other words, no worries it's only a words trick, cacao is always cacao in all its forms, and cocoa is just the name in English. It is like coffee, coffee is always coffee when it is raw or roasted, and everyone names it just "raw coffee" or "roasted coffee", nobody calls it “café" when it is "raw coffee”

 

The Roasting Process

 

The Roasting Process is extremely important for Cocoa. First, for health and safety, the roasting is the sterilization step that always has to happen. Even if we are very careful with the beans through all our process, from the tree to our warehouse, the beans came to us in non-sterilized environments, so, there is always a risk, and you and your family have to be 100% safe! Secondly, the roasting process triggers the explosion of aroma and flavours that need to be highlighted, all cocoa magic!

 

It has been heard that some cocoa beans are washed in the farms, but water is not a very good friend for cocoa beans and also does not kill the bacteria risk, also, if in the preparation process it is added some substance to kill the bacteria, the cocoa will not be “raw" anymore, or even if the cocoa is roasted in low temperatures, is not "raw" anymore either. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, any food bellow 60 °C is in the bacteria growing risk zone, and the cooking zone is above 74 °C, all cocoa must be roasted over that temperature, otherwise, is not safe (for instance, to kill Salmonella the temperature has to be 70°C or more) .

 

We are not against of raw cocoa, but it is important to research and be 100% sure of safety before consumption. Enjoy whatever you prefer, just keep safe! 😁