Cocoa and chocolate

what's the difference?

Quick answer: Cacao mass (also called cacao/chocolate liquor) is the whole cacao bean, ground into a paste — it still contains all its natural cacao butter (fat). Cocoa powder is what's left after most of that cacao butter has been pressed out. Same bean, different amount of fat left inside — and that one difference changes everything about how each behaves, tastes, and is used.

Walking into a cafe, there's a chocolate menu and a cocoa menu — aren't they the same thing? Today we'll clear that up.

Cocoa and chocolate both start from the beans of the cacao pod. They differ in how far the bean is processed, and what's left inside once that processing is done.

Chocolate begins with fermenting the cacao beans — this develops the microorganisms and flavor compounds that give cacao its depth. The beans are then dried for storage, roasted, and peeled (winnowed) to remove the shell, then ground into a liquid. This ground paste is what's properly called cacao mass (or cacao liquor / chocolate liquor) — nothing has been added or removed yet, it's simply the whole bean in liquid form once warm, and solid once cooled.

Cacao mass is roughly 45–55% cacao butter by weight, depending on variety and growing region. A quality chocolate bar is cacao mass (kept largely intact, not stripped of its butter or diluted with vegetable oil) mixed with sugar or other ingredients, then molded and chilled into a craft chocolate bar. Our Chocolate Flake 100% is exactly this — cacao mass on its own, flaked for easy use, with nothing extracted and nothing added.

Why cacao butter matters

Cacao butter is the fat naturally present in the bean. It contains both monounsaturated and saturated fats — quality fats that make chocolate soft when warm and solid when cool. When you place a piece of real chocolate on your tongue, it gradually melts because cacao butter's melting point is 32–37°C — close to body temperature. That's what produces the lingering aftertaste as it melts completely.

"Among minerals, magnesium, copper, potassium, and iron are present in cocoa and chocolate in significant amounts. Magnesium, copper, and potassium exert a cardio-protective role, while iron, mainly present in dark chocolate, contributes to 25% of the U.S. recommended dietary allowance for a middle-aged man, thus helping prevent anemia." — Frontiers in Immunology

Cacao butter contains around 40 times more antioxidants than blueberries, along with anti-inflammatory compounds linked to preventing anemia, supporting artery health, heart health, and memory. Because of this, cacao butter is valuable enough that it's extracted and sold on its own — used in cosmetics and other industries — before the remaining solids ever reach supermarket chocolate.

From cacao mass to cocoa powder

When cacao mass is pressed to squeeze most of the cacao butter out, what remains is cocoa powder — cacao solids with very little fat left. Cocoa powder is popular for desserts and general cooking because it's shelf-stable and doesn't need careful temperature control (Thailand regularly sees 38–42°C — real chocolate won't hold its shape or quality in that heat without care).

Cocoa powder is also less sensitive to heat, so it won't cause a baked good to lose its structure the way high-fat chocolate can. Most chocolate candy and bars sold in supermarkets are actually cocoa powder mixed back with vegetable fat, other heat-stable oils, sugar, and milk powder — not cacao mass itself.

Cacao mass vs. cocoa powder at a glance
	Cacao mass (e.g. Chocolate Flake 100%)	Cocoa powder
What it is	Whole ground bean, fat intact	Bean solids after fat is pressed out
Cacao butter content	~45–55%	Very low
Texture when melted	Melts smooth, coats the tongue	Doesn't melt — stays powdery, disperses in liquid
Heat stability	Sensitive — softens/melts above ~32°C	Stable at room temperature, even in Thai heat
Typical use	Drinking chocolate, craft chocolate bars, baking where richness matters	Everyday baking, desserts, quick cocoa drinks
Prep time (as a drink)	~10–15 min (gently melted/stewed)	Under 3 min (just stir into hot water)

Natural vs. alkalized (Dutch-process) cocoa powder: not all cocoa powder is the same either. Natural cocoa powder (like our Natural cocoa powder) is untreated — it keeps its naturally acidic, fruity, more intense cacao flavor, and reacts with baking soda in recipes. Alkalized (Dutch-process) cocoa powder has been treated with an alkalizing agent to neutralize that acidity, giving it a darker color, milder and smoother flavor, and better solubility — but it needs baking powder rather than baking soda to rise properly. Neither is "better" — they're suited to different recipes and different flavor goals.

Why iced chocolate costs more than iced cocoa

When you order a cold chocolate drink (100% chocolate) at our shop, we stew the cacao mass gently for 4–5 minutes until it fully melts — this is where the aroma really develops, as the cacao butter starts to work. We then mix in milk, syrup, or other ingredients per the recipe. Altogether, this takes about 10–15 minutes per serving.

A cocoa drink (50% chocolate), by contrast, just needs cocoa powder scooped into hot water with some sweetness — ready in under 3 minutes. (There are actually several types of cocoa powder too — more on that another time.)

Next time you're at a cafe, you'll know why iced chocolate costs more than iced cocoa. That said, drinking cocoa is still worth it — the fiber in cacao beans helps improve the LDL:HDL ratio, which is linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and some studies show meaningful metabolic differences between regular cocoa drinkers and non-drinkers. It's part of why cocoa has a reputation for supporting weight management.

Cacao, grown in Thailand

Cacao can be grown in Thailand — if that's news to you, read more in our Chocolate Journey article. If you're here purely for flavor or health, feel free to skip it.

Cacao is a remarkably sustainable plant — every part, from root to leaf, has some use, and there's growing research (mostly international so far) into what each part offers. As cacao cultivation grows in Thailand, we expect it to carry the strengths of Thai land and climate too. There isn't dedicated research on Thai cacao yet, but we believe it holds real promise.

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