Cacao Beans
Details and Where to Buy

Raw Cacao Beans (updated Dec 12, 2012) make healthy chocolate treats if you have the healthiest ingredients. This is so important that I want to give you more details about them.

Products of the Cacao:

Beans, Nibs, Powder (also known as Cocoa Powder), and Butter

I personally use only the raw cacao nibs, raw cacao powder and raw cacao butter in my recipes. I used to buy the cacao beans a few years ago and eat them plain, but I really do prefer my chocolate treats and don't have a desire for the beans anymore.

Source:

I'll refer to all the cacao products as beans since that is where they begin before processing.

I have found the best cacao beans coming out of Ecuador. But... don't trust all beans coming from Ecuador. They are definitely not all the same. The companies I list below are ones I have tried and trust.

There are companies out there that sell gmo cacao as well as microbe laden beans. Buyer beware.

See "Where to Buy" further on down this page.

Best Value - My Number One Choice:

• Certified Organic
• Ecuadorian
• Processed below 118 F
• Nibs softer than most and blend well in recipes
• Low to no microbe count
• Usually Available
• Cacao Powder truly raw, (more available nutrients)
• Cacao Butter truly raw, (in my recipes - mixes easily in blender when shaved into pieces - no need to melt it)

Sunfood™ - "My Number One Choice" for cacao products. Things change in this industry and Sunfood has gone through some changes as well. But they have remained on top for years and are now even more stellar in providing high quality products.

To understand more on why I have chosen Sunfood as My Number One Choice, here is a video I highly recommend you watch.

(You can learn more about the Sunfood cacao products by visiting their website.)

Natural Zing - still on my favorites list, but they don't always have all the cacao products I usually buy. They are on the east coast so would be a good choice if close to you.

Love Street - going to be dropped soon. I keep checking for their cacao products but I'm finding they have more "out of stock" than "in stock" - you can check there but by January 2012, I'll probably drop them from my list if they aren't stocking the cacao products.

Navitas - I'm adding Navitas to this list as they are a very good company that consistently put out high quality products. There cacao is from Peru, not Ecuador which I prefer. I don't find their products quite the caliber as the Sunfood products but you may prefer them. You should determine which you like best.

Which Do You Choose?

Here's a good comparison of the cacao beans I found on the Sunfood website before the page was taken down. (David Wolfe is no longer the owner of Sunfood Nutrition and there have been some changes there.)

Reference: Sunfood Nutrition™

I have actually seen a product in my health food store showing the actual whole beans inside the package having a see-through window. They looked very similar to the sample on the right.

But... when you buy the nibs, you don't see the whole beans so you have to guess what they looked like before they were broken up. You don't know what you are getting unless the company certifies they are microbe free or very low count.

For More Information:

Facts About Chocolate
Recipe Ingredients
More About Chocolate
Why Eat Chocolate?
Chocolate Facts (FAQ)
Healthy Chocolate Choices

Or... Go here right now to Ask a Question. You'll be sharing your question and responses with others.

Thanks,Janis

Go to Healthy Food Recipes from Cacao Beans

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