the cacao bean

I have been alerted to the pleasing news that we are in the midst of Chocolate Week, which runs from 13th to 19th October. What a perfect time for a post on one of nature's superfoods - the marvellous cacao bean. 

Pure and simple The purest form of chocolate is the cacao bean. Cacao is one of nature's superfoods, with a wide array of unique properties, many of which get destroyed during the cooking process. Standard chocolate bars get a bad press because of all the stuff that’s mixed in with it; sugar, hydrogenated fats, and dairy products, for example. 

Chocolate - health benefits?

The raw cacao bean, on the other hand, has amazing health-giving properties; it is the number one dietary source of magnesium - one reason why many women crave it around the time of menstruation. It is also exceptionally high in sulphur, the 'beauty mineral'. Added to that, it is rich in antioxidants, it's a natural anti-depressant, and an aphrodisiac! In fact, it contains over 300 identifiable chemical compounds, making it one of the most complex foods known to man. 

Energy boost

So not only does it taste divine, it makes you feel like a goddess too! And instead of feeling low in energy after eating raw chocolate, you actually feel an energy boost and some people report a cacao high. Although cacao does contain small amounts of caffeine, experiments conducted by homeopaths found that the effects of caffeine in cooked chocolate (raised blood blood pressure and excitement of the nervous system) differed greatly from those of caffeine in raw chocolate, where the effect was not noticeable. This led the experimenters to conclude that the physiological changes were caused by aromatic substances released during roasting. So this is chocolate that you can enjoy at any time and positively revel in its health giving properties.

Our Favourites

We take our duties seriously here at The Green parent magazine and therefore when it fell to us to sample some of the raw chocolate available we rose to the challenge with not a whisper of complaint and here are some of our finds:

Pitch Dark from the Raw Chocolate Company, 44g, £2.99

This bar has a grainy texture and is quite sweet, using mulberries to achieve the sweetness with not much bitterness. I love really dark high cocoa solid chocolate so this wasn't one of my favourites. However the same company produces (or certainly used to produce - I can't find it on their website now) a double bar pack for children with animals on and my kids love them. So different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Real Raw Chocolate Bars from Total Raw Food, 40g, £1.99

Total Raw Food produce a range of bars that have a similar taste to those from the Raw Chocolate Company. They do a silver bar with maca and a red bear with goji berries for longevity. The mint one is pretty tasty and my kids love all of them! Total Raw Food also offer all the kit needed to make your own raw chocolate on their site too.

Raw Chocolate Pie from Raw Intent, 90g, £4.99

Oh my goodness, this is simply divine! I could have eaten this delectable morsel all by myself but testing meant sharing it. Shame! This also got the thumbs up from Jez, who is hard to please in the field of raw chocolate. Raw Intent also offer lots of other superfoods and luxury items like raw chocolate spread - yes indeedy!

Choca Mocha Magic from Conscious Chocolate , 40g, £2.50

Wowzer, now I have to admit I have a bit of a thing for coffee - I can wean myself off for months on end, then catch a whiff of a well brewed espresso and I'm off again, needing a daily fix. Well, this bar meets my needs in a much healthier and all round lovely way. This is my favourite raw bar! The kids didn't get a look in - but that's okay because they had their own bars of Nicely Nutty and Hint of Mint. I gave my last piece to Jez - true love eh?! They make a bar called Love Potion No 9 and any company that honours The Clovers musical masterpiece in such a sweet way gets my vote.

Enjoy the rest of chocolate week!