Live Superfoods Cacao Powder, Ecuadorian - 16 oz
Live Superfoods Raw Ecuadorian Cacao PowderMany people consider eating chocolate a “guilty pleasure.” But the reputation of chocolate as a junk food should more accurately be attributed to the harmful effects of commercial processing and refining techniques, and the other ingredients commonly added, most notably white sugar. All chocolate is made from the cacao (cocoa) bean, and cacao beans in their natural, unprocessed, unadulterated state are rich in nutrients and beneficial to health.What is Cacao Powder?Cacao powder is simply the bean from the cacao tree, that through a cold-pressing process, has had the fat (cacao butter) removed. With the fat removed, cacao powder becomes hydroscopic, so it dissolves easily in liquids. Cacao powder can be used to make chocolate by mixing it with cacao butter and sweetener (we recommend light agave nectar).The Cacao tree (theobroma cacao) comes in three varieties: Criollo, which was the predominant bean two hundred years ago, is rarely found today due to the Criollo tree's lack of resistance towards disease. The Criollo beans most often found today come from Venezuela. Forasterois the most widespread of cacao beans found today. Orginally, Forastero beans were found in the Amazon region, but now Forastero trees are being cultivated all over the world. Most Forastero beans are made for bulk production, with almost 70% of the chocolate on the market coming from this tree. A notable exception to this is a variety of Forastero known as Cacao NacionalorArriba Forastero, which is treasured as afine/ flavourcacao due to its jasmine-like aroma and flavor profile.Trinitariois a hybrid between Criollo and Forastero trees, originating in Trinidad. Trinitario trees can be found all around the world, in Ecuador,