Cacoa Paste is the natural product of ground nibs, which are drawn from the fruit of the Theobroma Cacao tree. Raw cacao paste (also called cacao liquor) is made by crushing raw cacao beans into a liquid. This quickly solidifies at room temperature and the result is cacao paste.
The cacao plant originates from the fertile forests surrounding the Amazon River in South America, where it is still found growing wild today. Translating to ?food of the gods?, cacao beans were treasured by the Mesoamericans and in 600BC, cacao beans were seen as so valuable that they were traded as currency and cultivation was limited to preserve their value.
Today?s modern version of hot chocolate stems from the Aztec traditional recipe of roasting and crushing beans, then mixing the resulting paste in water. Rich in theobromine, cacao not only offers a delicious, rich chocolatey flavour but is also abundant in associated benefits including reducing tiredness and fatigue, supporting normal function of the immune system, and boosting mood.
