Drinking cacao is the whole cacao bean, ground and set with its cocoa butter kept in. You melt it into hot milk or water and whisk it, so the cup is thick and glossy rather than thin. Unlike hot chocolate, there's no sugar or milk powder in the pack, just cacao.
It's usually sold as a block, buttons or pieces rather than a loose powder, because cocoa butter is solid at room temperature. In Colombia it's a breakfast drink, often sweetened with panela. In the UK it's still new, so labels vary. Here's how it compares with hot chocolate and cocoa powder.
| Drinking cacao | Hot chocolate | Cocoa powder | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What's in it | Cacao, nothing else (check the label) | Sugar, cocoa powder, often milk powder and flavourings | Cacao with most of the cocoa butter pressed out |
| Cocoa butter | Kept in, around half the weight | Low | Usually 10 to 22% |
| Sugar in the pack | None | Often the first ingredient | None |
| In the cup | Melts, thick and glossy | Dissolves, thin to medium | Dissolves, needs milk and sugar |
| Per cup | About 20g | 2 to 3 heaped teaspoons | 1 to 2 teaspoons |
Is drinking cacao the same as hot chocolate?
No. Most hot chocolate is a powder mix, with sugar and cocoa powder doing most of the work. Drinking cacao is the bean on its own, with the cocoa butter still in. You can make a hot chocolate with it by adding milk and a sweetener, but you decide how much. More in Cacao powder vs whole bean cacao. Side by side in Cacao vs hot chocolate.
What's the difference between cacao and cocoa?
Both words come from the same plant. In the UK, cocoa usually means the powder in a tin, and cacao is used for less processed products, but neither word is regulated. The ingredients list and the fat on the nutrition panel tell you more than the name. Whole bean cacao shows close to 50g of fat per 100g. More in What is full-fat cacao?
What does drinking cacao taste like?
Richer and less sweet than hot chocolate, closer to dark chocolate melted into a cup. There's a gentle bitterness and, in a good one, some fruit from the bean. Single-origin cacao tastes of the place it grew. More in What is single-origin cacao?
How do you make drinking cacao?
Melt 20g into 300 to 400ml of hot milk or water and whisk until smooth. A milk frother, a blender or a small whisk all work. Sweeten it if you like. More in How to make drinking cacao.
How much does a cup cost?
With ours, about £2 a cup: one 20g piece per cup, 11 pieces in a 220g pack.
Where is Sierra Cacao's drinking cacao from?
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia. It's bought direct from the growers, local farmers and Indigenous people in the Sierra Nevada, and hand harvested. Single origin, nothing added, cocoa butter kept in, and sent out from Nottingham. Shop Pure Cacao
Try it for yourself.
Single-origin Pure Cacao from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. 11 sticks per pack, or a Month Supply of 33.