Cacao vs. Cocoa: What’s the difference?

The weather is turning brisk and we’re slowly easing into hot cocoa season. You’ve probably warmed your hands with many a mug of hot cocoa over the years without thinking too much about what cocoa was. It’s a soothing, chocolatey drink dotted with marshmallows - what’s to know? In fact, cocoa gets used to make some of your favorite confections: brownies, cakes, and doughnuts, to name a few.

But you might have noticed a similar product in grocery stores and on cafe menus with a subtly different name: cacao. You can buy cacao as a powder, a beverage, or tiny pieces called nibs. It’s received a good name in natural grocery stores. Tasting the two side by side isn’t a radically different experience. They can basically be used interchangeably. The question is whether a difference even exists - or is it all just flashy marketing? We’re about to answer all your burning questions.

What’s the difference?

The reason cocoa and cacao look and taste so similar is that they start from the same source. You’ll be happy to know that both are derived from the beloved cacao bean. When the beans are separated from the cacao plant, they then need to be fermented. This step removes the pulpy exterior and starts to develop the flavor in the beans. Different fermentation processes are used to achieve different aims, but they all go through some form of fermentation.

So far, both cacao and cocoa have gone through an identical process. But here’s where things diverge. The beans for cocoa are roasted at high temperatures. This takes away some of the bitterness of the product but also removes some of the positive nutritional components of the bean. Cacao beans skip the roasting. That makes them a less processed and more nutritious product, with bitter notes intact.

Is it better for you?

Cacao has received a good reputation in recent years with a rise in consumer interest to eat healthier, less processed foods. The fact that they aren’t highly processed, don’t typically have additives, and aren’t roasted makes them a good option for people with dietary constraints, like raw vegans.

That doesn’t mean that anything with the word “cacao” slapped on it should be getting your blessing - or that anything “cocoa” deserves to be shunned. There are a lot of cocoa products out there with no additives that deserve your consideration. There are also lots of products that claim to use cacao, but upon further investigation, it’s a lot of marketing and no substance. So if you want to know which one you should be pulling off the shelf, use your best judgment.

What’s with the name?

The word cacao is the closest version we have to the one used by the indigenous people of what is now Central America. When Spain colonized this region, they adopted the name and the delicious beverage that it referred to. As is common with so many words that cross from one group of people to the next, it was written incorrectly as “cocoa” in English at some point and the change became permanent.

As confusing as the two names can be, a very distinct difference has developed between the two products. Both are great to toss in cake batter or mix with hot water and marshmallows on a cold day, but the best product really depends on how you plan to use it. The only recommendation we can endorse is: more chocolate-flavored baked goods at all times, period.