Nutrition Facts for Cocoa and Chocolate

There have been many studies linking cocoa and dark chocolate with health benefits. Cocoa and chocolate contain a large amount of antioxidants (flavinoids). Cocoa and dark chocolate may keep high blood pressure down and reduce the blood's ability to clot, thus the risk of stroke and heart attacks may be reduced. The darker chocolate with the most concentrated cocoa will be the most beneficial. According to an Italian study, a small square (20 g) of dark (bittersweet) chocolate every three days is the ideal dose for cardiovascular benefits. Eating more does not provide additional benefits.

Cacao E Cioccolato

II principio è nel frutto dell'albero del cacao, la cabosside: un baccello ovoidale che come uno scrigno racchiude queste fave brunite, quasi fossero gemme preziose. Arrivano da lontano in sacchi di iuta e conservano ancora un'aura di esotico, regalandoci profumi e suggestioni dai tropici.

Cacao

Cacao flowers

Cacao (Theobroma cacao) (Mayan: kakaw, Nahuatl: Cacahuatl), or the cocoa plant, is a small (4–8 m or 15–26 ft tall) evergreen tree in the family Sterculiaceae (alternatively Malvaceae), native to the deep tropical region of the Americas. Its seeds are used to make cocoa and chocolate. There are two prominent competing hypotheses about the origins of the original wild Theobroma cacao tree. One is that wild examples were originally distributed from southeastern Mexico to the Amazon basin, with domestication taking place both in the Lacandon area of Mexico and in lowland South America.

Cocoa Balls

Cocoa Balls - In many cacao-producing countries the cacao beans are locally used for making "cocoa tea". The fermented beans are ground to a fine paste, mixed with spices, and rolled into balls which are dried (in Jamaica and some other countries the ground cocoa is rolled into sticks or made into cubes instead of balls). These balls (or cubes or sticks) are used for making "cocoa tea", which in other countries is called a "hot cup of chocolate".

Drying and Roasting Cacao Beans

When the fermentation is terminated the cacao beans are sun-dried. At this stage the smell of cocoa can be observed. In small plantations the fermented beans are spread by hand, and later turned over by hand or foot. In Central America the beans are dried on wooden floors which can be covered by a sliding roof if it starts to rain. On larger plantations electric dryers are used.