What is cocoa pod?

Cocoa pods are the fruit that comes from cocoa trees. They can vary in color from green to yellow to red, and they grow on a tree that has been found in Mesoamerican areas of South America, Central America, or the Caribbean. Cocoa pods grow in clusters of three or four. When they are young and before the cocoa beans inside them have fully matured, they are called "cocolas." Cocoa pods actually live for anywhere between 6-14 years on the tree before they reach maturity!

Cocoa pods are very small and light. They are round and dark brown in color. There are two types of cocoa pods, cocoa beans, and cocoa nibs. Cocoa beans contain the seeds and other parts of the tree, while cocoa nibs are grown on the young leaves of the tree. The leaves grow around the pod to protect it.

Cocoa pods are a favorite treat for many people. Most people like the cold, creamy chocolate taste this chocolate snack offers. What makes cocoa pods popular is that the consumer can choose how much sugar they want in their dark chocolate. The consumer can also decide if they want to purchase whole or half cocoa pods by buying from bulk or single serve cocoa pods.

Cocoa pods are used in chocolate making as a way to separate cocoa butter from the cocoa powder. This process can be fairly time consuming, so many people purchase cocoa beans and do it themselves. But, where does our cocoapod go once it has separated the two ingredients? The pod is generally emptied into slurry bins or a grinder that can grind up the pods, flakes, and nibs into smaller forms of chocolate at a faster pace.

Benefits of Cocoa Pods

Cocoa pods are not only good in desserts, but they can also be a healthy snack or dietary supplement. They are high in antioxidants, which help lower the risk of heart disease and cancer by neutralizing free radicals. The dark chocolate can also make for a great healthy dessert choice if it's paired with low-fat ingredients like nuts, coconut oil, and fruit.

Difference  between coffee pods & cocoa pods

Not all coffee pods are the same. There's a big difference between the kind of coffee you can buy at your local grocery store and the kind of coffee you can buy from a barista. A coffee pod is made simply of ground beans, water, and sometimes some flavorings, whereas a barista will use a grinder to make fresh grounds for each new cup of coffee. Cocoa pods are similar to coffee pods in that they contain ground cocoa beans and other ingredients like sugar, milk or cream, but instead of water, cocoa pods have hot chocolate mix added to them. The reason why these two types of beverages are called coffees and chocolates is because in Europe they were originally both called "coffee".