This is a personal choice - the closer to the original plant ingredient you get, the less processed it is. Cocoa powder is still just cacao, just processed more. I'm absolutely fine with cocoa powder and if I don't have cacao at that point I don't stress. But I find that cocoa powder can be a bit bland in comparison, and I wanted this to be a pure chocolatey treat! So use the nibs at least once to see what difference in taste there is and decide for yourself. There's no wrong answer!