In india, traditionally, sab kuch chalta hai has been the usual expectation, approach and attitude of both consumers and brands towards claims that are made. The FSSAI and the Advertising Standards Council of India have stepped up a great deal to monitor cases of misleading advertisements and claims in the Food and Beverage sector. However, the recent honey episode clearly exposes how Indian consumers are known to have a careless attitude towards many purchases they make. They do not question most claims and hence many brands take advantage of the loopholes. Coming to the topic of this article, what is the difference between Cacao and Cocoa? Lets dive in!
In almost every consumer interaction I have had in the recent past, i have been asked a question about the difference between Cacao and Cocoa. To start with, the botanical name of the tree on which cocoa pods grow is Theobroma Cacao. It is the bitter seed of this fruit which is processed into chocolate starting from from Bean to Bar. The cocoa pod are first carefully harvested (cut from the tree) and then the pulp which coats the seeds is removed from the pods and put together in the fermentation box for fermentation for 5-7 days and then usually sun dried.
Untill this stage, most of the processes are natural and happen at the farm (except drying using artificial dryers in case of rains) and the beans are referred to as cacao beans. However, once the beans travel and reach the chocolate processing unit, the chocolate maker starts by grading and sorting the beans and roasting them. This is usually the 1st artificial step that is administered on the beans. Till before the roasting stage, the beans are referred to as Cacao beans. Once the beans are roasted, they are usually referred to as cocoa beans. Cocoa usually means beans that have been processed. Post roasting, cocoa (or chocolate) liquor is made by refining the beans and is then pressed to separate cocoa butter and the resultant powder. This liquor is NOT referred to as Cacao liquor, it is referred to as cocoa liquor because it is made from processed (roasted) beans!
As next steps, commercial chocolate manufacturers treat (alkalise) cocoa to get rid of the acidity and bitterness of low quality or mass produced cacao beans that are used. Alkalised cocoa is famously called as Dutch processed cocoa !!! With us being clear about the usage of the term cocoa, let us understand what cacao refers to! Cacao is used as a term for a product that is less processed than other products. To take an example of cocoa powder, if the powder is alkalised, it is called as cocoa powder. However, if it is not alkalised, it can be called as Cacao powder.
However, your insight and inquisitiveness should not stop here! Many health and nutritional experts refer to the usage of cacao as a superfood and in many of their recommendations and recipes without really expanding or explaining on what is the exact product they are referring to! It is researched extensively and believed that Cocoa contains more phenolic antioxidants than most foods. However, most of the antioxidants are available in non processed cacao and the benefits reduce as they are further processed. This means RAW beans contain most of the benefits that have been researched! Roasting and alkalising it results in the most loss of antioxidants. However, we must remember that cacao also contains a lot of fat (50% by weight!). Hence it is useful to press out the fat from it. When pressed, the resultant product is powder. If the beans are not roasted (to retain antioxidants) and powder is pressed, the resultant product is RAW cacao powder and is believed to retain the most antioxidants and the most healthy! Hence it is best to use RAW cacao powder or RAW cacao nibs if the aim is to accentuate health benefits from cacao.
Bakers must also note that baking soda causes an increase in pH and subsequent destruction of flavanol compounds and antioxidant activity. Hence it is best to avoid baking soda in your healthy bakes.
Build employee culture strategically, Enhance Employee Engagement/Experience (EX) & Employer Branding using Corporate Gifts for Employees. This is perhaps a recurring (monthly!) requirement that corporates have to keep addressing. Kocoatrait has the privilege and pleasure in presenting to you a planet friendly (a.k.a sustainable) and inclusive Employee Experience enhancement, engagement, communication, culture building and corporate gifting format for the 1st time in India! Pair your monthly/quarterly/annual gifting with a virtual, fun, learning lead, engaging & innovative “live” 60 minute fine chocolate appreciation session with India’s 1st certified chocolate taster, L Nitin Chordia. The aim of this session is to demonstrate sustainability using healthy-dark, sustainable, inclusive, plastic/paper free chocolates at the cost of a team lunch/outing! This format can be delivered in Offline (in person), Online (Virtual) & Hybrid model.
Who is this relevant for in an organisation?
This format is relevant and directly applicable to the heads/managers of the following roles in an organisation: Human Resources, People & Culture, Employee Experience (EX), Employee Engagement, Employer Branding, Sustainability, Diversity & Inclusion, Communication and Marketing Managers can ensure Employee Experience improvement and Engagement.
How much does this activity cost?
The cost of this activity equates to the cost of a team lunch per person! Quite Literally! and sometimes even lower!
Please click here to access the presentation on this innovative engagement format and how this can be useful for your organisation.
Below are a few testimonials from our clients.
We reached out to Nitin for a team session on appreciating Indian bean to bar chocolates. The team enjoyed the bonding over the session and learnt a lot about making, eating and enjoying chocolates. Nitin engaged with many of them and answered all their queries which made it very interactive. Whilst initially a two hour session, we went on for nearly three hours. All thanks to Nitin and his wonderful chocolates!
Experiencing the delight of chocolate tasting came true with the event hosted by Nitin! This was an intimate event with just a few team members so we felt the individual attention and Nitin was super calm and answered all our questions. I was personally surprised to learn about some lesser known facts of chocolate manufacturing, special insights of zero waste packaging, even about the fermentation process in detail! Loved the session and have already recommended to my peer teams, who I believe have already signed up for future sessions! (Link: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6876563595862396928/)
– Ramya Sampath, Head of India Partner Engineering team, Linkedin India.
Given the continued WFH, we were looking for a fun and informative virtual session that would help the team interact. Some of the other options we considered were stand up comedy or concert, but we felt with Nitin’s knowledge and credentials and the excellent Kocoatrait chocolates, a chocolate appreciation session would be more interactive and engaging. We were not disappointed – the session was excellent and everyone really enjoyed it. We would highly recommend it.
– Prashant Gupta, Partner and National Practise Head (Capital Markets), Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, New Delhi
Eco-friendly gifts tug at people’s heart. They help us forge an emotional bond & pass the message of environment conservation
– Anand Rajendran, HR Director, Rage Communication, Chennai
Thank you for hosting a chocolate tasting event for us . The event was very well received by our team and they enjoyed it wholeheartedly. Thanks for taking care of the logistics and making sure every employee gets a personalized message and the chocolates kits right on time. The chocolate tasted amazing and the virtual event was great. Thanks for all that you did for making our team feel special and teaching them how to eat and taste chocolates.
– Malini Satish Kumar – ABP, Google India
For Team Engagement and Building with chocolates, we ship out a box of handpicked Single Origin Planet Friendly, Sustainable and Zero Waste chocolate to the associates based on addresses shared in a specific spreadsheet format by the client (in advance) and using bluedart or similar overnight service. The box is completely sustainable, plastic free and planet friendly. The fine flavoured chocolates are of indian origin and reassures the participants that in India we can be atmanirbhar with our chocolates. The box is delivered with the client’s logo on the top of the box printed on the bluedart AWB indicating & clearly indicating that the company has sent it. Upon receipt of the box, the recipient stores the chocolates based on instructions clearly given in the box. On a scheduled date/time, the associates log on to a virtual platform and then L Nitin Chordia, (India’s 1st certified chocolate taster) takes them through a 90 minute guided chocolate appreciation sesion where we taste 4 or 5 different and unique chocolate bars. The associates can join in with their families if so desired by the company! During the session, we ensure that almost all the participants get to participate/engage in some conversation. We start with a quick rapid fire introduction of each participant and where they take 20-30 seconds each to share any memory about chocolate. Post this, Nitin takes them through a 20 minute walk through of pictures and videos of how chocolate is actually made. After this, there is an introduction to the chocolate tasting guide and participants taste chocolates based on the instructions. If so desired, one chocolate can be without a name and participants guess the same. Nitin engages with a few randomly selected team members for each chocolate and requests for their reaction. This takes up untill 90 minutes and we wind the session with a Q&A. All this at the cost per person of a team lunch! The session needs 10 working days of advance notice for logistics planning.
The video below describes the journey of Kocoatrait chocolates from bean to bar!
The Journey fo Planet Friendly Kocoatrait chocolates from Bean to Bar
You could also choose to include a zero waste sustainable and planet friendly chocolate gift box (options available in reusable TIN and Plam leaf). This box lends itself very well to the overall virtual chocolate appreciation experience. The box is available to view at: https://cocoatrait.com/product/zero-waste-gift/
Disclaimer: We are not associated to any of the above firms listed in the links.
About L Nitin Chordia, Cocoatrait & Cocoashala:L Nitin Chordia is India’s 1st certified chocolate taster. A Sparring Partner and a Retail Business Consultant with over 15 years of experience in Indian FMCG and Retail Domain. His current consulting focus is Sustainability, Zero Waste & Circular Economy. Nitin is India’s 1st Certified Chocolate Taster, Judge at the International Chocolate Awards, London and a Cocoa Post Harvest Professional. Nitin is the 1st external faculty at the Institute of fine chocolate tasting, UK. Nitin operates Cocoatrait with an intention to promote the production and consumption of fine chocolates in India. Nitin along with his wife Poonam (a trained chocolatier and a Level 2 certified chocolate taster) operates Cocoashala, a chocolate school which delivers the basic & advanced levels of Bean to Bar chocolate making training and beyond. Kocoatrait is the world & India’s 1st Sustainable Luxury Zero Waste, Single Origin, Organic and Planet Friendly Bean to Bar Chocolate contributing to the circular economy. Kocoatrait was conceived with an aim to enable aspiring Indian citizens to adopt a zero waste lifestyle and follow minimalistic living.
Contact: L Nitin Chordia +919600064846; nitin@cocoatrait.com
Why should you be baking with Khandsari Sugar and care if the baking chocolate you are using is sweetened with it? Read on..
Muscovado, also khandsari and khand, is a type of partially refined to unrefined sugar with a strong molasses content and flavour made from thickened sugar cane syrup. It is neither bleached nor contains harmful chemicals and additives and hence considered a less processed substitute to white sugar. It is dark brown in colour usually. Khandsari and Gur (jaggery) are the most popular forms of the traditional sugars in northern India.
Khandsari sugar is usually darker than other sugars
The largest producer and consumer of khandsari is India. The English name “muscovado” is derived from a corruption of Portuguese açúcar mascavado (unrefined sugar).The Indian English names for this type of sugar are khandsari and khand (sometimes spelled khaand). Nearly two thirds of the total sugarcane produced had been used for manufacturing of the traditional sugars in 1930’s. However, after introduction of sugar refinery mills and their significant growth and increased demand for white sugar associated with increase in per-capital income among the population, the demand for the traditional sugars declined. By 2000, only 32.5% of the total sugarcane produced in India was used for manufacturing of Gur and Khandsari.
Muscovado a.k.a Khandsari sugar sugar is unrefined cane sugar that contains natural molasses. It has a rich brown color, moist texture, and toffee-like taste. It’s commonly used to give confections like cookies, cakes, and candies a deeper flavor but can also be added to savory dishes. This is the reason why Kocoatrait chocolate couvertures have a deeper and unique toffee like note. This helps bakers add a slightly unique flavour to their final products. This is perhaps the main reason you should be Baking with Khandsari Sugar.
The use of khand in India in making sweets has been traced to at least 500 BC, when both raw and refined sugar were used. Along with gur, khandsari unrefined sugar is India’s traditional sweetener,[28] commonly used in traditional recipes for masala chai (spiced Indian tea), eating with roti by mixing with melted ghee, traditional Indian sweets that require sugar such as kheer (Indian rice pudding), gur or khand chawal (sweetened rice) or laddu. Khandsari (muscovado) is used in traditional Ayurveda medicine to aid blood purification, digestion, bone health and the lungs.
Having said the above, our verdict is as follows: While it is true that khandsari has more nutritional value than white sugar. But let us be real. One should not be eating sugar for the vitamins and minerals! The fact is that khandsari is minimally processed and has a unique flavour profile which makes it interesting to work with. This should be the reason you should consume it. Further, there has always been a debate about bone char being used to refine sugar. We just could not get around proving that, so we decided to avoid the problem instead of solving it ! We do not encourage the health claims associated with khandsari. However, using minimally processed and safe ingredients is always something we are eager to do Thats why we buy only USDA organic certified khandsari sugar for use in Kocoatrait chocolate products.
55% Dark Milk Irish Cream Chocolate (Brand: Kocoatrait) This chocolate bar is our treat to the coffee lover who can’t live without chocolate! The Irish cream flavour adds to the comfort!
64% Dark (Brand: Kocoatrait) This is our signature plain dark single origin chocolate made with Indian cacao. We have strived hard to enhance the rum & raisin notes of this chocolate bar. Makes us proud!
64% Sukku Coffee Dark Chocolate (Brand: Kocoatrait) Sukku Coffee, a popular drink in Tamilnadu is used to aid in digestion. It is a combination of dry ginger, coriander seeds, and other flavorful spices. We aim to recreate the popular Sukku experience with chocolate!
65% Pink Rose Dark Chocolate (Brand: Kocoatrait) Organic & very aromatic Pink Rose from Rajasthan provides the subtle rose flavour to enhance the experience of love! Perfect gift for your loved one.
65% Masala Chai Dark Chocolate (Brand: Kocoatrait) The masalas that trigger freshness have been perfectly roasted and incorporated in this chocolate bar made of Indian origin cocoa beans!
65% Coconut Milk & Cinnamon Dark Chocolate (Brand: Kocoatrait) The creaminess of coconut milk and a pinch of cinnamon helps enjoy the bar while being vegan!
66% Dark Banana (Brand: Kocoatrait) This dark chocolate bar is made with Indian Bananas for a balanced and delightful fruity experience!
66% Dark Lavander (Brand: Kocoatrait) This dark chocolate bar is made with Kashmiri Lavander flowers for a creamy dark experience!
65% Red Rose Dark Chocolate (Brand: Kocoatrait) Organic Red Rose from Rajasthan is used to flavour this bar! With less on aroma but higher (than pink rose) on flavour, this bar is a way to please your pallete!
70% Dark Jaggery (Brand: Kocoatrait) This is our deep and rounded plain bar sweetened with jaggery to a familiar treat! Cocoa in its purest form!
66% Dark Lemongrass (Brand: Kocoatrait) Lemongrass is long associated with food preparation! Here we use real lemongrass of Indian origin to create a deep connection with cacao. Enjoy this South American combination!
We've saved 300+ kg of plastic from landfills, becoming a Plastic Positive brand. Each Kocoatrait dark chocolate bar emits 1.3 Kgs of CO2 on average. Enjoy free shipping for orders over Rs 1000! Dismiss
