Food Ticket: eat your way to Peru with cacao

You’ve probably noticed that the ingredients in chocolate vary between containing cocoa and cacao on the packaging. Though they are derived from the same plant and sound similar, there are differences between the two.

Cacao refers to the beans that have not been roasted, while cocoa refers to beans that have been roasted. Cacao in its purest form has an intensely bitter taste. Cocoa is roasted at a much higher temperature and typically supplemented with additives (dairy, sugar, artificial flavours) to cut the bitterness. After cacao has been heated at high temperatures, many of its nutrients degrade. A product that is labelled cacao is usually minimally processed to maintain all of the impressive nutrients that make it a superfood. 

Cacao is easy to incorporate into your daily diet and can be used to make pudding, ice cream, smoothies, or added to oatmeal, granola, baking, and hot or iced drinks. It can be purchased in many forms including chocolate, powder, nibs, paste, and butter.

Dotted along the banks of Peru’s Ucayali River, you’ll find family-owned farms growing some of the world’s best cacao. Fossa Chocolate's Ucayali River Dark Chocolate highlights the fruity and floral honey notes of these award-winning beans. Ucayali River Cacao is a central fermenter that works with farmers in the area. The region has historically been afflicted with unrest from narco-trafficking and the presence of the Shining Path militant group. Ucayali River Cacao in partnership with USAID and Alianza Peru, works with 400 local farmers to provide them access to an alternative market by purchasing raw cacao from them at a premium price.