The Wild Chocolate Guide (Cocoa)

Cocoa goes global

More recently, cocoa bean production has expanded beyond the traditional Central and South American countries.

The world's three largest cocoa bean producers are in Africa and Asia. Ivory Coast is in first place, then Ghana and Indonesia. West African countries now account for 69% of the world's cocoa bean production, most of which is used for mass-produced chocolate products.

The plant has come a long way since the time of Cortes and the fall of the Maya empire. Since then, cocoa has continued to spread across the globe through new and improved methods for growing, cultivating, and processing.

Processing Cocoa

The processing methods for growing cocoa vary greatly depending on whether you buy organic or conventional.

While some organic products are not much different than standard grade (and some are), conventional cocoa is one of the world's most heavily sprayed crops (again, just like coffee).

And since the cocoa butter (the fat) of the beans quickly absorbs and retains pesticides, it is a product that you should always try to buy organic (like coffee).

From Plant to Bean to Bar: Types of Cacao

After three or four years of growth, a cocoa plant will start bearing fruit. Once mature, cocoa trees produce 20–30 pods a year, yielding 20–50 beans each.

Of course, not all cocoa beans are the same. There are three central cocoa beans, each varying in flavor, aroma, and nutritional makeup. These are:

Forastero is the bean most commonly found in Africa, hence the name "foreign" in Spanish. Up to 80–90% of all cacao comes from this plant because it is highly resistant to disease and climate and produces a high yield of beans. Typically, this is the minor quality grade of bean blended with particular types of cocoa to improve the flavor.

Criollo: This is the "native" cocoa bean found in Central and South America. It is considered the highest grade of cacao and is more expensive due to the fragile trees and low yields of inconsistent beans. Only 5–10% of the world's cocoa production is criollo. A unique property of these beans is that they contain more theobromine and caffeine than the other varieties.

Trinitario: The trinitario beans are a hybrid of the two and combine the best aspects of each. Accounting for only 10–15% of the world's cocoa production, it is disease-resistant and is still considered "excellent" chocolate.

Harvesting Cocoa

Harvesting cocoa is usually done with a machete wielded by skilled laborers.

Once the pods were cut down from the tree, they split them with a large knife, exposed the beans, and removed the pulp.

Next, the cocoa beans are fermented in a process called "sweating," which aims to remove some bitterness from the beans.

After 4–7 days of fermentation, the beans are dried for 1-2 weeks.

The best cocoa farmers in the world manually harvest the beans, mix fermenting beans every couple of days, and sundry their product on raised beds to prevent moisture accumulation and mold.

The final step for the beans is roasting. This process depends on the type of bean. For example, cocoa nibs are roasted at temperatures of 215°–248°FF, with the time roasted depending on whether the final product is meant for producing cocoa or chocolate.

After this processing, the fermented beans are sent to various manufacturers to produce chocolate products, such as cocoa powder, cocoa butter, chocolate bars, cocoa nibs, etc.

To produce great cocoa, skilled laborers must harvest, process, and manufacture the cocoa by hand throughout the entire process. While this increases the cost of the cocoa, it produces a far better-tasting product (as well as a better quality of life for the workers and farmers and a better environmental result).

The cocoa bean has been used for centuries, and cultivation and processing methods have developed. Even with all the technology we now have access to, traditional, handcrafted methods with an eye for precision and quality products produce the finest cocoa.

Check out our selection of handcrafted wild chocolate products here.

Processing Cocoa

The processing methods for growing cocoa vary greatly depending on whether you buy organic or conventional.

While some organic products are not much different than standard grade (and some are), conventional cocoa is one of the world's most heavily sprayed crops (again, just like coffee).

And since the cocoa butter (the fat) of the beans quickly absorbs and retains pesticides, it is a product that you should always try to buy organic (like coffee).

More recently, cocoa bean production has expanded beyond the traditional Central and South American countries.

Processing Cocoa

The processing methods for growing cocoa vary greatly depending on whether you buy organic or conventional.

While some organic products are not much different than standard grade (and some are), conventional cocoa is one of the world's most heavily sprayed crops (again, just like coffee).

And since the cocoa butter (the fat) of the beans quickly absorbs and retains pesticides, it is a product that you should always try to buy organic (like coffee).

From Plant to Bean to Bar: Types of Cacao

After three or four years of growth, a cocoa plant will start bearing fruit. Once mature, cocoa trees produce 20–30 pods a year, yielding 20–50 beans each.

Of course, not all cocoa beans are the same. There are three central cocoa beans, each varying in flavor, aroma, and nutritional makeup. These are:

Harvesting Cocoa

Harvesting cocoa is usually done with a machete wielded by skilled laborers.

Once the pods were cut down from the tree, they split them with a large knife, exposed the beans, and removed the pulp.

Next, the cocoa beans are fermented in a process called "sweating," which aims to remove some bitterness from the beans.

After 4–7 days of fermentation, the beans are dried for 1-2 weeks.

The best cocoa farmers in the world manually harvest the beans, mix fermenting beans every couple of days, and sundry their product on raised beds to prevent moisture accumulation and mold.

After this processing, the fermented beans are sent to various manufacturers to produce chocolate products, such as cocoa powder, cocoa butter, chocolate bars, cocoa nibs, etc.

Check out our selection of handcrafted wild chocolate products here.

Processing Cocoa

The processing methods for growing cocoa vary greatly depending on whether you buy organic or conventional.

While some organic products are not much different than standard grade (and some are), conventional cocoa is one of the world's most heavily sprayed crops (again, just like coffee).

And since the cocoa butter (the fat) of the beans quickly absorbs and retains pesticides, it is a product that you should always try to buy organic (like coffee).

Cocoa And Health

The cocoa plant is a unique Central and South American native species that has grown in popularity globally since European discovery in the early 16th century.

Cocoa has exceptional health properties ranging from increased vitamin and mineral consumption to cardiovascular disease prevention.

Of course, the type of cocoa plant, the conditions, and method in which it was grown, and the processing methods used to produce the final cocoa or chocolate product all play a significant role in how healthy the cocoa is for you.

Hint: The better the quality of cocoa, the better it is for you.

Cocoa Bean Cultivation For Health

Regarding the health benefits of cocoa, organic is the only way to go.

Because the cocoa plant is so susceptible to disease and insects, non-organic cocoa is heavily sprayed with pesticides that leach into the cocoa beans and end up in your cocoa product.

The cocoa butter inside the cocoa beans is where most of these pesticides retain, but with heavily sprayed cocoa trees, it's not uncommon to find traces of synthetic chemicals in every part of the tree, cocoa pod, and bean.

Health benefit number #1 of quality cocoa: Avoiding synthetic poisons.

Cocoa Bean Cultivation For Health

The type of cocoa plant also plays a role in how nutritious cocoa is.

The familiar "forastero" bean is cultivated across Asia and Africa and makes up 80 - 90% of the cocoa consumed in the world. While it lacks authenticity, quality, and flavor, it makes up for its practicality and production cost, which is why it is most commonly used in mass-produced cocoa and chocolate products.

The rarest form of cocoa, the criollo bean, is even more susceptible to disease, making them a prime pesticide candidate. Of course, most criollo is so expensive to produce that you usually find it only in expensive organic chocolate products.

Dutch Processing And Chemical Changes

Since 1828 much of the cocoa powder processed in the Western world has gone through "Dutch processing."

Cocoa powder that has not been dutched is "natural cocoa."

The Dutch process involves washing cocoa powder with a potassium carbonate solution to improve alkalinity and produce less bitter-tasting cocoa. While this makes chocolate taste better, it also makes chocolate less healthy.

A 2008 study found that Dutch processing significantly impacted cocoa's antioxidant value, arguably the most unique and vital part. Antioxidant levels of processed cocoa powder:

39.9% antioxidants with lightly processed cocoa powder

22.5% antioxidants with moderately processed cocoa powder

11.2% antioxidants with heavily processed cocoa powder

Flavonoids And Antioxidants In Cocoa

One of the primary benefits of cocoa is its high flavonoid and antioxidant content.

These natural micro chemicals help improve health markers and are found in various foods, such as green and black tea, coffee, and blueberries, to name a few.

Cocoa has a unique flavonoid profile, which makes it highly valuable. A 2015 study showed that flavanol consumption improved cognitive function, blood pressure control, and metabolic profile in elderly subjects.

The antioxidants in cocoa help reduce signs of aging due to the cocoa polyphenols stimulating cell survival and preventing cellular death. By promoting cell health, not only can these cells last longer, but they can also be more resistant to cancer.

Cocoa And Cardiovascular Disease

The antioxidants and flavonoids in cocoa help impart cardiovascular benefits that can help prevent the disease.

One Harvard Medical School study focused on the island Kuna people from Panama who consume cocoa heavily.

The Kuna were far less likely to develop cardiovascular disease than mainlanders who consumed little to no cocoa.

Markers and byproducts of cardiovascular diseases, such as cholesterol and blood pressure, have also seen marked improvement through cocoa consumption. Long-term cocoa consumers reduced LDL (bad cholesterol), and cocoa powder was found to lower blood pressure better than black or green tea, traditionally considered unique and antioxidant-rich.

Brain Health And Cognitive Benefits Of Cocoa

The antioxidants and chemical compounds in cocoa have been shown in numerous studies to benefit brain health and cognitive function.

Stimulants like theobromine and caffeine boost attention and concentration in the short term.

Using blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) contrast imaging, one study found cocoa powder increased blood flow to the brain by up to 40%. This led to better learning capabilities, memory, and physical reaction times.

Beyond memory and learning, cocoa powder has strong stress-reducing and mood-enhancing properties.

By influencing the production of the brain chemical serotonin, cocoa enables one to have a better mood and reduce feelings of anxiety and worry.

No wonder we reach for the chocolate when we are feeling down!

Cocoa vs. Cacao Powder: What's the difference?

When you read articles about the health properties of cocoa and chocolate, the stimulating effects for the brain, or the antioxidant content, it is in the cocoa powder that most of chocolate's nutrition lies.

Often referred to as cocoa solids, this byproduct of cocoa bean processing used to be the most popular portion of the plant.

Today, cocoa powder is outclassed in popularity by cocoa butter, the primary ingredient in chocolate—the cocoa fat—that gives a creamy and delicious texture.

Despite the popularity of cocoa butter, the powder is resurgent among health-conscious individuals interested in making their cacao products at home. (We love both at Wild Foods!)

As discussed in Section 3, how cocoa is processed plays a predominant role in the final nutritional makeup of the cocoa, whether it is dutched or natural.

Processing Cocoa Powder

A cocoa tree takes 3 - 4 years before they are ready to bear fruit adequate for cultivation.

Once mature, a cocoa plant will produce 20 - 30 pods a year with approximately 20 - 50 cocoa beans inside each. Through arduous manual labor, native workers hack down the pods with machetes before splitting the pods open and scooping out the cocoa beans inside.

The beans are heaped together and left for a few days of fermentation ("sweating"). This helps remove the bitterness from the cocoa beans. The beans are then fermented one last time for 1-2 weeks.

Next, the beans are roasted. After the cocoa beans are roasted, the fat (cocoa butter) is separated from the solids using a hydraulic press that drains off the cocoa butter. The cocoa butter ends up being 54 - 58% of the total weight of the cocoa beans, which leaves the rest to be made into cocoa powder.

The resulting 42 - 46% cocoa bean is a fine, dry powder full of antioxidants, stimulating chemical compounds, vitamins, and minerals.

However, the taste of the cocoa powder depends on the processing method. The three ways of processing cocoa are below.

Broma Process - Named after "theobroma" (the Latin name for cocoa), the Broma Process was the original option that used heat and gravity to separate cocoa butter from the cocoa bean. This method was used until 1828 but is rare today after being replaced by Houten's pressing invention.

Dutch Process - One complaint Europeans had with cocoa was the bitterness, which Coenraad Johannes van Houten tried to remedy through his invention of the Dutch processing method. This method soaks the remaining cocoa powder in an alkaline solution to become more chemically neutral.

While this helped expand the use of cocoa in chocolate and is still used to this day, it comes with drawbacks—the cocoa is more challenging to bake with, has a significantly reduced antioxidant content, and the deep chocolate flavor is strongly muted.

Natural Process - This is cocoa that has not undergone Dutch processing but has been processed using a hydraulic press. After being separated from cocoa butter, it is left as is.

Various Dutched Cocoa Powders

Because the Dutch processing method has become so popular over the past 150 years, there are many variations to produce various cocoa powders.

Here is a list of different Dutch-processed cocoa powders that you might come across:

Black cocoa - This is the most heavily Dutch-processed cocoa, which provides the darkest cocoa and one of the wealthiest flavors—of course, at the cost of all the health benefits.

Double-Dutch cocoa - Usually, double Dutch-processed cocoa combines ordinary dutch processed cocoa powder with black cocoa powder. This gives it a less intense flavor than black cocoa but still lower than regular Dutch-processed.

Triple cocoa blend - Occasionally, a baking recipe can utilize the subtle flavors of black cocoa, Dutch-processed and natural, all in the same product. That is what the triple cocoa blend provides.

Benefits of Non-Alkalized Cocoa Powder

While cocoa butter is filled with healthy saturated and monounsaturated fats, the other healthy part of the cocoa plant should not be discounted; the cocoa solids.

Much of the antioxidant value found in chocolate comes from the flavonoids in the cocoa powder. This especially non-alkalized cocoa powder has not been treated with chemicals or solvents. It thus maintains the healthy antioxidant and flavonoids responsible for improving many health markers, including aiding against cardiovascular disease.

This 2006 study noted that flavonoid-rich cocoa had "...favorable physiological effects include: antioxidant activity, vasodilation, and blood pressure reduction...decreased inflammation." The antioxidant profile found in cocoa is firm in natural cocoa powder as opposed to Dutch processing methods.

Scientists published in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry found that light Dutch-processed cocoa had less than half the antioxidants as natural cocoa powder. The moderately processed cocoa had 22.5% of the antioxidants, while only 11.2% remained from the heavily Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Losing so much of the health value makes the flavor hardly worth it!

Besides the antioxidant, cocoa powder contains vitamins and minerals not often found in other foods. Cocoa is especially rich in calcium, copper, and magnesium.

High-Quality Cocoa Powder

As mentioned, the highest quality cocoa powder comes from a non-Dutch processed producer with the original flavor, aroma, and health benefits.

The quality of the bean also makes a big difference, which is why organic cocoa is a wiser choice than mass-produced conventional cocoa products.

We recommend you always opt for the highest quality cocoa and chocolate. Ensure you buy the organic cocoa powder that is naturally processed for maximum flavor and aroma.

Better yet, why experiment with making chocolate at home using Wild Cocoa Butter and Wild Chocolate Powder?

Cacao Nibs

When we think of chocolate, we think of a product far removed from the cocoa tree and bean it came from.

One way to get back to the source of chocolate is with the nib.

Cacao/cocoa nibs are the rawest form of cocoa, most famous as a consumer product.

After cocoa beans are harvested and roasted, they are husked to remove the outer shell, broken into smaller pieces, and sifted to remove small particles. What's left is a small piece of cocoa called a nib.

Cocoa nibs have grown in popularity with healthy and organic food trends.

Nibs make a great healthy alternative to chocolate chips. And while they are bitter to eat alone, they are great sprinkled on desserts or savory dishes. You can also bake with them.

Although cocoa nibs are an early-stage product of cocoa bean processing, modern technology combined with ancient methods are helping producers create high-quality nibs that produce a deep chocolate flavor reflecting the growing conditions of the environment—known as the "terroir" of the chocolate.

Growing And Processing Cacao Nibs

Once a new cocoa plant has grown for three or four years, it will start producing cocoa pods. In each pod, as many as 50 beans can be harvested with the stroke of a machete.

The beans are then manually separated from the pod and left in bins or grates to ferment. Over 4 - 7 days, the cocoa beans are fermented, which helps reduce bitterness.

Once that process is over, they are either taken to dry in the sun or through other methods. The sun-dried form is always a higher quality as it ripens the flavor of the beans.

A rigid outer layer is formed around the cocoa beans during this process. This external "shell" is removed before breaking the cocoa beans into nibs.

This tough exterior layer was considered less desirable for many years because it had a bitter, nutty, and crunchy taste. Today, it is a delicacy and one of the healthiest ways to consume cocoa.

After removing the shell, the nibs are made by carefully crushing and sifting. At this point, you have a small piece of pure chocolate.

The flavor of the nib first depends on the variety of cocoa plants.

Forastero, the most commonly grown strain, has a fruity and bitter flavor. The native Criollo beans are creamy with almost no bitterness, while the hybrid Trinitario beans are sharp and fruity.

Health Benefits of Cocoa Nibs

Chocolate is usually filled with sugar and additives that make it sweet or preserve the texture and look of the product. During this appeals to most, it has far fewer health benefits (and more health risks due to sugar consumption) than cocoa nibs.

The cocoa nib benefits provide everything healthy about chocolate without sugar or additives.

First, cocoa nibs provide a high quantity of antioxidants, which can help bolster immune health, prevent diseases like cancer, and reduce inflammation. However, because the cacao nib is a more pure form of the cocoa bean, it has higher antioxidant content than any other form of chocolate.

A Harvard Medical School study on the Kuna people of Panama showed significantly lower heart disease rates than mainland people with no cocoa consumption. The scientists and researchers at Harvard concluded that improved blood flow from flavanols in cocoa helped improve heart health.

That same enhanced blood flow showed cocoa could improve memory and learning ability. It also prevents age-related neurological decline, becoming a bigger problem in the Western world.

Additionally, cacao nibs are a perfect source of fiber and micronutrients. You can get 18% of your daily fiber allotment in a single ounce of nibs. Within that same serving, there is also 21% of your daily requirement for iron and magnesium.

While cocoa nibs have less caffeine than coffee, they have some stimulating properties. This is due to the small quantity of caffeine in the nibs in addition to theobromine, a stimulant specific to the cocoa plant that has a relaxing effect.

Finding High-Quality Cocoa Nibs

Now that you understand the process for creating cocoa nibs and the product's health benefits, you must seek out the highest quality nibs.

Cocoa is one of the most sprayed food crops worldwide because it is susceptible to disease and pests. Because of this, the cocoa fats (within the cocoa bean) collect the pesticides and are in the cocoa nibs when you consume them.

This is why it's paramount that you consume only the highest-quality organic nibs you can find.

Organic nibs benefit you and your health, but it is also better for the forested regions where cocoa is grown. With conventional cocoa, pesticides pollute local water supplies and kill wildlife.

Another objective is finding fair trade cacao nibs because the cocoa manufacturing process is labor intensive. There are reports from Africa of forced child labor and poor conditions for workers. Fairtrade products make you more likely to get humanely grown, manufactured, and produced cocoa nibs.

Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter is fat pressed from the cocoa beans after fermentation, roasting, and separation from the cocoa bean hulls.

It is yellow-white and solid at room temperature. You can eat it or use it on your skin and hair in its raw form. The antioxidant profile in cocoa butter makes it a perfect stable fat source for soaps, lotions, and similar skin care products.

It's also fantastic blended into smoothies and coffee and is a primary ingredient in making creamy homemade chocolate!

Cocoa butter is one of the staple fats found in nature. It comprises 57-64% saturated fats in stearic acid, palmitic acid, myristic acid, arachidic acid, and lauric acid. The remainder comprises unsaturated fats consisting of 29-34% monounsaturated (oleic acid and palmitoleic acid) and 0-5% polyunsaturated (linoleic acid and a-linolenic acid).

Extracting Cocoa Butter

After harvesting, the cocoa beans are fermented and roasted. When the roasted and fermented beans are ready, the cocoa solids undergo one of two different processing techniques:

Broma Process - This process extracts cocoa butter from the beans by hanging bags in a warm room and allowing the butter to melt and collect underneath. This process is considered more desirable and natural because it uses gentle temperatures to separate the butter from the cocoa solids.

Dutch Process/Press - Invented in 1828, the Dutch process is the more familiar way of separating cocoa beans into butter and powder. The sole difference between Dutch and conventional processing is that the beans are steeped in an alkaline solution to become chemically neutral. It is the basis for much of our modern chocolate, but the process makes the cocoa flavor milder.

After one of these processes, a hydraulic press is used to press out the remaining cocoa butter.

These different processing techniques and other cocoa tree species influence the cocoa butter's final quality.

In South American countries like Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia, the resulting cocoa butter is the softest in the world. Central America and African countries have intermediate hardness levels; the most complex cocoa butter comes from Asia and the Pacific islands.

The hardness of cocoa butter makes it more suitable for various products in the food and cosmetics industries. For example, soft cocoa butter from South America is better used in cosmetic products, while Asian cocoa is challenging and valuable in chocolate making.

After the cocoa butter is extracted, most cocoa butter undergoes a process to deodorize the aroma and flavor. Even though cocoa butter is the fat from cocoa beans, its strong flavor can strongly influence the taste of a final chocolate product.

This is why most cocoa butter used to make chocolate is deodorized. Of course, this comes at a loss of some nutritional benefits. We advise using non-deodorized cocoa butter for personal use, as you'll unlikely be able to taste the subtle difference.

Cocoa Butter Uses

After extraction, cocoa butter is used in various products. The main one is manufacturing milk, dark, and white chocolate.

For white chocolate to be considered such, it must use at least 20% cocoa butter. Even though the finished deodorized cocoa butter is perfect for milk and dark chocolate, deodorized cocoa butter can produce bland-tasting white chocolate.

This is why some white chocolate manufacturers use non-deodorized cocoa butter to give their products more richness and chocolate flavor.

Beyond edible uses, cocoa butter is used in skin care products across the globe. It is commonly found in moisturizing products and marketed as a tool to prevent and remove stretch marks.

Cocoa Butter Health Benefits

Cocoa butter is a complex blend of saturated and unsaturated fats, which has health benefits for topical applications and consumption. With around 57 - 64% saturated fat, cocoa butter is a stable fat not prone to rancidity.

The balanced mixture of saturated and unsaturated fats and the antioxidants traditionally found in cocoa make cocoa butter the perfect product for skin care soaps and lotions. They are handy for pregnant women with stretch marks and require non-invasive treatment to prevent or remove them.

Besides stretch marks, cocoa butter has moisturizing properties that make it useful for general skin care, even without a specific use.

It treats dry lips, wrinkles, sunburns, and other mild skin conditions.

Cocoa butter is the perfect ingredient for making homemade soaps, lotions, and creams.

Cocoa Butter Recipes

‍Cocoa butter is excellent for skincare, haircare, and food and drink recipes!

4 Ingredient Homemade Chocolate Bar

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Wild MCT Oil (or coconut oil)

1/4 cup Wild Cocoa Butter

1/4 cup Wild Chocolate

2-4 TBSP Maple Syrup, Honey, Xylitol, Palm Sugar, or choice sweetener

Optional: Wild Vanilla Powder (our fav), Wild Sea Salt (delicious)

Steps:

1. Heat all ingredients in a saucepan and whisk until a smooth consistency. Taste the mixture and adjust the ingredients to your desired tastes.

2. Pour mixture into molds or a glass baking dish.

3.Place in the freezer for 1-2 hours.

4.Enjoy!

5. Remove and keep frozen or refrigerated.

*Optional ingredients you can experiment with Nuts/Seeds, Sea Salt, Dried Fruit, Coconut Flakes, Spices, Lemon/Orange Zest, and Cinnamon.

Homemade Chocolate Bark

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Wild MCT Oil (or coconut oil)

1 cup Wild Cocoa Butter

1/2 cup Wild Chocolate

2-4 TBSP Maple Syrup, Honey, Xylitol, Palm Sugar, or choice sweetener

1/2 TSP Sea Salt

Optional: Wild Vanilla Powder (our fav), Shredded Coconut, Nuts/Seeds

Steps:

1. In a saucepan, heat Wild MCT, Cocoa Butter, Wild Chocolate, and Sweetener on low heat and whisk until a smooth consistency. Taste the mixture and adjust the ingredients to your desired tastes.

2. Pour the mixture onto a large parchment-lined baking sheet or dish. Aim for a thin layer.

3. Place in the freezer for 1-2 hours.

4. Enjoy!

5. Remove and keep frozen or refrigerated.

*Optional ingredients you can experiment with Nuts/Seeds, Sea Salt, Dried Fruit, Coconut Flakes, Spices, Lemon/Orange Zest, and Cinnamon.

Homemade Nut Butter Cups

Ingredients:

Homemade Chocolate Bar Recipe or 1-1/2 cup Organic Semi-Sweet chocolate chips

3 Tablespoon Coconut Milk or Almond Milk

1/4 cup Wild MCT Oil (or coconut oil)

1/2 cup Almond or Cashew Butter

2 TBSP Maple Syrup, Honey, Xylitol, Palm Sugar, or choice of sweetener

Dash of Wild Sea Salt

Optional: Wild Vanilla Powder, Shredded Coconut, Nuts/Seeds, etc.

Muffin cup pan or small candy molds

Steps:

1. For a Homemade Chocolate Recipe, do this: In a saucepan, heat Wild MCT, Cocoa Butter, Wild Chocolate, and Sweetener on low heat and whisk until a smooth consistency. Taste the mixture and adjust the ingredients to your desired tastes.

2. For the chocolate chip method: Melt chocolate chips and milk using the double boiler method and keep stirring until thoroughly melted.

3. Pour chocolate mixture into molds to fill 1/3 full.

4. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

5. Remove and spoon in 1/3 nut butter (you can whisk some nut butter with a bit of water or coconut milk to make it easier to work with + can experiment with adding other flavors using this method)

6. The cups should now be 2/3 full. Pour the chocolate mixture over the top until complete.

7. Place cups in the freezer for an hour to firm.

8. Remove and enjoy!

9. Remove and keep frozen or refrigerated.

Wild Drinking Chocolate

This recipe is nearly identical to our Wild Butter Brew Coffee recipe, but by using milk or water instead of coffee as the base (butter being optional, you end up with the drink recipe below.

We often encourage experimenting in the kitchen here at Wild Foods.

That means looking at a recipe as a "template, " not a "recipe."

We would like you to look at a recipe like the one below, and follow it as a rough guideline, making tweaks here and there and tasting and refining your final concoction.

Because you are a unique little snowflake (and I mean that with all sincerity), you have a different palate and preference for the foods and drink you eat.

You might like your drinks sweeter or not sweet at all. You might prefer it iced over hot drinks (like I do). And so on.

The recipe below is our Wild Recipe Template take on traditional hot Cocoa/Drinking Chocolate.

STEP 1: BRING 10 OUNCES OF WATER TO NEAR BOIL IN A SMALL POT

STEP 2: ADD 2 TBSP OF WILD CHOCOLATE POWDER

STEP 3: ADD 1-2 TBSP SWEETENER (WE USED XYLITOL HERE)

STEP 4: ADD A DASH OF SEA SALT

STEP 5: STIR

STEP 6: TASTE AND ADJUST IF NECESSARY

STEP 7: POUR INTO YOUR FAVORITE MUG

STEP 8: DRINK!

"Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands and then eat just one of those pieces."

- Judith Viorst

A Cocoa Overview

Chocolate, or Cocoa as it is sometimes called, has been around for centuries.
The first chocolate factories were built in the early 1800s, and the first chocolate bar was created in 1847.
Chocolate was initially used as a currency by the Aztecs and Mayans and in religious ceremonies.
Chocolate is made from the cacao bean native to South America.
Chocolate has several health benefits. It is rich in antioxidants and flavonoids, which can help promote health.
Chocolate also contains magnesium, essential for bone health, and zinc, necessary for the immune system.
Chocolate has been demonstrated to increase brain function, memory, and even blood pressure.
There are many different ways to enjoy chocolate. Chocolate can be eaten independently or used in cakes, cookies, and ice cream recipes. It can also be added to coffee or milk to make a delicious drink.

What others are saying

The Wild Chocolate Guide (Cocoa)

Cocoa And Health

Cocoa vs. Cacao Powder: What's the difference?

Cacao Nibs

Cocoa Butter

Cocoa Butter Uses

Cocoa Butter Recipes

A Cocoa Overview