All about Cocoa

Are we all nuts about Cocoa? We love the texture and taste of chocolate in all its forms. But from a nutritional point of view, those who are health conscious avoid the commercially available chocolates which may be devoid of nutrients, packed with unhealthy ingredients, laden with sugar and do no good for our overall weight and calorie intake

Where does Cocoa originate from?

The tropical tree known as ‘Theobroma Cocoa’ produces Cocoa beans. Theobroma is the Latin name for Cocoa and it actually means “the food of the gods”, named after the richness and high quality attributed to it.

Cocoa beans were first discovered by the Mayans of Central America, as early as 900 AD. Cocoa traditionally played a central role in the South American culture, where the Mayans created a ritual beverage shared during marriage and other ceremonies. This is when it all started and the link between romance and chocolate begun.

Chocolate is now enjoyed worldwide in thousands of different forms, with an approximate annual consumption of more than 3 million tons of Cocoa beans annually.

What is the difference between Cacao and Cocoa?

Cocoa powder is essentially Cacao beans that have been roasted at high temperatures. This changes the molecular structure of the beans, reducing the content of the beneficial enzymes hence lowering their overall nutritional value.

Raw Cacao however is made by cold-pressing un-roasted cacao beans. The process keeps the beneficial living enzymes in the cacao and removes the fat (cacao butter).

Top 4 Benefits of Cocoa

Taste:  It tastes fantastic full stop! The whole family loves it.

Cardiovascular: Cocoa flavanols help maintain the elasticity of blood vessels, which contribute to normal blood flow. The health benefit can be obtained as long as 200mg of Cacao flavonols are consumed daily. This is known to apply to particular forms of Cocoa, such as dark chocolate. (EU Nutrition and Health Claims, 2015).

Feeling happy: There are no approved claims, but we all know how happy we feel after having some chocolate. Research suggests that Cocoa may increase the levels of brain chemicals that support us in feeling amazing!  What else? Well when we feel profoundly in love, our brain releases the compound ‘phenyl ethylamine’ which is also present naturally in chocolate.

Cell protection: Cocoa in its raw, unprocessed, unheated or even organic form, is packed of antioxidants. Antioxidants are those molecules which help protect our cells from the damaging effects of the environment, stress, toxins and so on.

So a little bit of Raw Cocoa is good for you! Above all aim to choose an Organic Form or even a Fairtrade form to support sustainable Fairtrade farming.

Our Amazing Grass Chocolate Infusion Superfood blend contains the additional Chocolate blend made of: Organic Cocoa, Natural Chocolate Flavouring, Redwood Cocoa and Organic Cacao. Hurry and get your individual sachets or tub online or in –stores and tell us what you think?

Check out our various chocolate infused products here  

References

World Cocoa Foundation

European Commission (EU) Nutrition and Health Claims (2015)