Cacao vs Cocoa, what is the difference?
What is the difference between "cocoa" and "cacao"?
I’ll get right to the point: there is no difference in the meaning between “cocoa” and “cacao” today. Allow me to explain.
What is the origin of the words “cacao” and “cocoa”?
“Cacao” or “Kakawa” as it was originally pronounced was the word used by the people of Mesoamerica who spoke Mixe-Zoquean or derivatives of this language as early as 1000 BC. Coe discusses this on page 34 of The True History Of Chocolate (3rd Edition). When the Spanish arrived to Mesoamerica in the 16th Century they adopted the word “cacao” from the Maya who were using it verbally and in written form. Although the Maya likely didn’t invent the word “cacao” they were the ones to pass it on to the Spanish. Cortés used the word “cacao” to refer to chocolate (which was a drink at the time).
We have written evidence of “kakaw” in the Dresden Codex, a book by the Maya, which dates to 11th or 12th Century AD. The Madrid Codex dated much later also mentions “kakaw” These documents also reinforce how important cacao and chocolate was to the Maya and Aztecs at a cultural and spiritual level.
The Aztecs referred to cacao as “cacahuatl” (with the “tl” sounding like “tay” in English) in the Nahuatl language. The Maya and the Aztecs both existed at the time when the Spanish arrived in the 16th Century. Coe in The True History Of Chocolate further discusses ways in which the Europeans adopted and recorded both Maya and Aztec words for cacao and chocolate. However, it seems the word “cacao” was derived from a word used by the Maya, who likely adopted it from the Olmecs.
We have evidence dating from 1633 in John Gerard’s “Herbal or General History of Plants'“ where he refers to the fruit of the tree as “Cacoa” (not cacao or cocoa). 18th Century writings by English traveler E. Veryard refer to roasted and unroasted cacao beans as “cacao” or “cacao-nuts” as he describes how to make chocolate (see page 131 of The True History Of Chocolate). In 1866, cocoa powder was referred to by Cadbury as “Cocoa Essence”, and by Frys as “Cocoa Extract”.
Some have suggested that “cocoa” was a spelling and pronunciation created by the English hundreds of years ago, either on purpose or by accident.
Cacao is before processing, cocoa is for processed products.
The words cacao and cocoa are used interchangeably so often, and defined incorrectly so often, that you’re better off to assume they mean the same thing when reading it either on a label or in a book. It will be unwise to assume cacao means something different than cocoa on cocoa and chocolate product packaging.
In the chocolate industry over many decades, there are many people at various levels (laymen to researchers) who try to use these two words to refer to whether the product is processed or in its natural state.
You will hear this often, mostly from the craft chocolate community, that the word “cacao” is to refer to unprocessed products or cacao in its more natural state before human interaction. Examples would be cacao tree, cacao pod, and cacao [beans]. They go on to say that “cocoa” refers to processed products where humans interact with the cacao. Examples would be fermented or roasted cocoa beans, cocoa butter, and cocoa powder.
Now although there are people within and without the chocolate industry defining these two words in this manner, and for good reason or good intentions, it would be unwise for you to choose to define cacao and cocoa this way when reading any literature. This includes, but is not limited to, literature such as:
information on bar wrappers
marketing materials and adds
published books
official and non-official cacao and chocolate related websites
peer-reviewed research written by scientists and researchers (they use both cacao and cocoa for processed products)
Unless the author of a book or research article states what they define as “cacao” or “cocoa”, one can’t assume what they mean is what you mean if you prefer to define “cacao” as unprocessed and “cocoa” as processed. There is no consistency and there has not been for decades on the use of “cocoa” vs “cacao”, and so it is unsafe to assume their meaning based on their spelling.
So although you may choose to use the words cacao and cocoa with the unprocessed and processed definitions, this isn’t how the words are used most of the time. As well, I have no evidence to suggest that the Maya or Aztecs had different words for unprocessed processed cocoa beans. They did have different words for various chocolate drinks, but not in the unprocessed/processed manner.
What does this mean? It means defining cacao/cocoa with the unprocessed and processed definitions is not how the words were originally used, nor is it a universal way of defining or using these words. This is especially true when it comes to the packaging and labels on your products.
There is nothing wrong with defining cocoa/cacao with the unprocessed and processed definition for yourself. If you are a chocolate maker, and you want to use the terms in this way, good. However, as a consumer or reader, you can’t assume these meanings when you see these words on packaging, in a book, or even in a research paper. As you now know, this isn’t the original meaning of the word “cacao” (as an unprocessed product), and this is also now how it is used the majority of the time. Although these definitions may have been used by some people in the past, it is not used this way by most people.
Here are some examples of what has been used in published material from wrappers to research papers:
“Cocoa”
cocoa beans
cocoa (used in a broad way to mean many products or parts of the tree)
cocoa husks
cocoa tea
cocoa pod
cocoa powder
cocoa butter
cocoa mass
cocoa liquor
“Cacao”
cacao beans
cacao (used in a broad way to mean many products or parts of the tree)
cacao tree
cacao husks
cacao tea
cacao powder
cacao pod
cacao butter
See how inconsistent that is? So regardless of how you wish to define cacao and cocoa, don’t be lead to believe there is a difference between your cocoa powder or chocolate bar because the word “cacao” is used on the packaging instead of “cocoa”. There may be a difference between products, but the spelling of the word is not what makes them different.
Why would one use “cacao” over “cocoa”?
A very misleading and unfounded definition of the words “cacao” and “cocoa” by what many assume is a trustworthy website.
Cocoa is the word that has been used for decades in places like USA and other English speaking nations, but now you are beginning to see the word “cacao” much more often. The health food industry (Superfoods, raw foods, holistic, herbal medicine) is taking on a more mainstream presence, and they understand that there are in fact many health benefits to cocoa products and chocolate.
However, many of those within this health food industry prefer to use the term “cacao” as it sounds more natural, more cachet, and differentiates itself from cocoa. Some may honestly believe there is a difference. The public is lead to believe this through misinformation online, marketing, and advertisements. There is no law or rule in most places which require specific qualities of a nib or powder to be able to call it “cacao” instead of “cocoa”. A chocolate maker like Nestle or a small craft bean-to-bar maker can use the term “cocoa bean” or “cacao bean” on their list of ingredients when they are both fermented roasted cocoa beans.
Here is an example of some very misleading advice from a popular and often trusted website, WebMD. They define “cacao” as “less refined” (not roasted as much), and “cocoa” as roasted very far to deplete it of much of its nutrients. This doesn’t even match up with the unprocessed and processed definitions
I mentioned above. We are dealing here with cacao that have both been roasted (and likely fermented). The only difference is how much they are roasted. Although there is some truth to roasting impact the level of antioxidants* in cacao beans - the temperature of roasting has absolutely nothing to do with whether a product can be called “cacao” or “cocoa” powder or nibs. Although some brands or manufacturers may wish to use this labelling, and sometimes with good intention, it is usually used with the intent to make it sound more healthy.
A chocolate maker like Raaka who uses less roasted cacao, or a chocolate maker like Solstice who uses well roasted cacao both have as their ingredient “cacao beans”. Neither of them is wrong in doing so, as they are both processed cacao beans.
There are differences, but you can’t rely on the spelling to make that determination!
There is a difference in nutritional aspects and flavour of roasted versus unroasted cocoa beans.
There is a difference (flavour, nutrition, properties) between alkalized and non-alkalized cocoa powder.
There is a difference in flavour, nutritional aspects, and texture of chocolate made from roasted vs unroasted cocoa beans.
There is a difference between fine and bulk cacao, there is a difference between fine chocolate and bulk commercial chocolate.
There is a difference with many attributes to the various techniques of processing cocoa beans and chocolate.
However, none of these differences determine whether they can be designated “cacao” or “cocoa”. This is up to the manufacturer, the writer, and the marketing department. As a consumer, you can’t assume that your “cacao powder” from Trader Joe’s is better for you because they call it “cacao” powder. You can’t assume your cacao nibs from Wholefoods are better for you because they use the “cacao” spelling.
Bottom line is, do not allow the spelling of cacao/cocoa to determine what you think of the quality, nutritional value, authenticity, or processing level when purchasing cocoa and chocolate products. You need to go beyond the spelling, and see what the packaging says about the product. If you want raw cocoa powder, don’t worry if it is labelled as “cacao powder” or “cocoa powder” - look for whether the packaging says its raw or unroasted (this is a contentious issue as well, but I’ll save this for another time). If you want high quality chocolate, the fact that the ingredients lists “cocoa” or “cocoa bean” is not an indicator of the quality of the ingredient or the chocolate itself. Nestle Canada has a dark chocolate bar labelled as raw. On this label they use “cocoa” for the English portion, and in French uses “cacao”.
*Antioxidants
There is a difference between roasted and unroasted cacao as far as the levels of polyphenols go. However, and this is a big however, chocolate (and cocoa powder, cocoa nibs) made with cacao beans which were roasted still contain very high amounts of flavanols (antioxidants), and even more so than your high antioxidant fresh fruits and vegetables such as blueberries, pomegranates, and leafy greens. Nearly all the studies that look at the benefits connecting chocolate and cocoa antioxidants to human health studied consumption of roasted cocoa beans and chocolate made from these cocoa beans. It has also been suggested that the roasting, although may reduce overall antioxidant levels, may increase the molecular size of some flavanol molecules. Having larger molecules take longer for our body to break down, last within the body or the blood longer, and may allow for high levels of absorption. Although raw cocoa or chocolate made from raw cocoa may have much higher levels of these antioxidants, it doesn’t mean our body actually absorbs them all. Also keep in mind that although there are many brands of “raw” chocolate, some used cocoa beans not roasted at all, while some use beans that are slightly roasted.
So, is there a difference between cocoa and cacao?
No.
There may be some who use “cacao” and “cocoa” to mean different things as mentioned above. However, this is not based on the original meaning of the word, nor a consistent definition of either of them. These words are also used interchangeably so often, across the whole world, and at various levels of writing, that you’re better off to ignore the spelling and assume they mean the same thing. The label of your product needs to specify how roasted or processed the cacao is. You cannot rely on the spelling of the word to tell you that. These two spellings are not reliable enough to understand what is meant by them. Today, the terms “cocoa” and “cacao” mean the same thing most of the time, and it would be best for you to not make any assumptions of the quality of the product based on the spelling of this word.