With the growing popularity of high flavanol cacao as both a health food and an alternative to coffee or other, less stable sources of daily energy, brands like Vital Purple have striven to provide a cocoa powder that preserves every last nutrient of the original crop. Cocoa and dark chocolate being by far the foods highest in antioxidant flavanols, keeping these compounds intact via minimal processing remains integral to ensuring your morning cup improves your cardiovascular health.
But as high flavanol cacao’s popularity has resulted in it being offered as everything from powder to dark chocolate bars to nibs and even capsules more akin to supplements, it is natural to wonder which is the best form to choose. More specifically, which parts of the original cacao pod contain the flavonoids and at what percentages, and how are those parts used to make the product that comes to your door? Read on to learn more:
Table of contents
Parts of the Cacao Pod
Before jumping straight into where in the cacao pod the most flavanols are found, it’s important to first understand the makeup of the crop itself. A cacao pod can be up to a foot long and four inches wide, its multiple layers resulting in a plant that often weighs an entire pound or more. Like other plants which are thought of as fruits, it consists of a rind or husk, a pulp (the actual “fruit” part) and seeds.
The husk in cacao’s case is thick, made up of multiple layers, and can be several different vibrant colors depending on its variety and how ripe it is. Inside, you’ll find the seeds growing attached to a fibrous stalk and surrounded by a layer of sweet, white pulp which is rich in natural sugars. Then there are the seeds themselves, or the pure cacao beans, which there can be about 20-30 per pod. Consisting of a shell and an inner nib, they are about the size of most nuts and are the part that is fermented and processed in order to make commercial chocolate.
Key Takeaways:
The cacao pod consists of a thick husk, a pulp, an inner stalk, and up to fifty seeds
The white pulp surrounding the seeds is actually the plant’s edible fruit and quite delicous and versatile
The seeds or cocoa beans are what is used to make chocolate and cocoa products
The Cacao Shell, or the Husk
With testing we have found flavonoids in every part of the cacao fruit. With the shell, we have found around 2% flavonoids, according to dry weight weight. This will be around the same % of total weight when it is dry, because it will lose moisture, but it will also lose flavonoids during the drying process.
This test was used with Arriba Nacional Material from farms with high elevation, so the cacao naturally forms defenses which are the cacao polyphenols and flavonoids. It has been studied the CCN51 has a higher % of flavonoids in general. Why? Because they have been specifically bred to be resistant to particular cacao crop diseases.
The cacao shell contains a lot of fiber and minerals and companies are now starting to repurpose it into gummies. Right now they are usually used as fertilizer or animal feed.
The Shell Of The Bean
The shell of the cacao bean has also been tested and proven to have 2% of the total weight in flavonoids. We personally tested this ourself here in Quito Ecuador. These shells are commonly not used for much because they do not grind very well into the powder. They're often discarded because the actual bean grinds beautifully into a cacao paste, then into a powder if it is defatted and pressed. The shells also attract heavy metals easier, but now some companies are using these shells for cacao tea, instead of completely discarding them.
The Cacao Sugar or "Mucilage"
This is the biggest up and coming product of cacao, that only certain brands really have access to. It's a bit complicated.
I'm referring to the mucilage surrounding the cacao bean ( See Photo Attached we took while cutting 05.28.26), and this sugar is has low glycemic content, while also providing about 1% of flavonoids of total weight. It also makes a delicious drink, and if you press out the fiber and dry freeze it, it is absolutely wonderful. Since we are talking about 15% weight of the total cacao fruit, it ends up being a lot of weight.
Now, this mucilage is naturally used to ferment cacao, which you need to do, unless you have a process like Vital Purple- completely unfermented.
If you take this away without specially processing the beans, you are completely wasting the beans. This is why it's uncommon, and expensive, however, at Vital Purple we get this as a natural byproduct and will be using it in our products soon. There are brands like Blue Stripes who have launched a drink with it- very cool!
Cacao mucilage contains several key micronutrients, primarily vitamins B, C, D, and E and essential minerals including magnesium, iron, zinc, and copper. We look forward to seeing how the industry evolves and if it is able to sustainable bring this product to mass market.
Why the Cocoa Beans Contain Nearly All Cacao Flavanols
As you might have guessed, given the fact that the cocoa beans are the part used to make both commercial chocolate and high flavanol cacao products, this is where most of the antioxidant-rich flavanol content can be found. According to the journal Nutrients, cocoa beans are about 12-18% polyphenols by dry weight, and about 60% of this is cocoa flavanols specifically.[2] Combine this with the around 10% of the plant that is the cacao beans by dry weight, and you may think that a mere 1% or so being flavanols housed in the beans is not much, but it is still where the large majority of the flavanols are coming from.[3] Does this mean that all cacao has noticeable polyphenols and flavonoids? No, most cacao is grown using monocrop production methods and is high temperature processed. This means that there are no flavonoids to begin with and then they are processed out of the final product.
In fact, this is precisely why brands such as Vital Purple offer raw cacao nibs as the most pure and nutrient-rich form of the superfood that is high flavanol cacao. Recall that cocoa beans consist of both the inner nib and an outer shell, and it is easy to see that removing the shell leaves just the most flavanol-rich part of the plant for you to enjoy. When cared for properly, these nibs can add up to over 2,500 mg of flavanols per ounce, or around 900 mg per serving of just over a third of an ounce as in Vital Purple’s flagship product.
Key Takeaways:
The cocoa beans contain the most flavanols by far out of any part of the cacao crop
Raw cacao nibs are the best way to consume these flavanols
Cacao nibs can contain over 2,500 mg of flavanols per ounce if properly prepared
Cocoa Flavanols in Other Parts of the Pod?
But what about the other parts of the pod? If the beans only account for 10% or so of the full weight after moisture (which itself accounts for the majority of the weight at harvest), do the other parts contain any significant flavanol or other nutrient content? Given how most other fruits are typically consumed, it may not be surprising to hear that the husk and the stalk are not typically consumed, although they are each high in dietary fiber and have a decent protein content as well. In addition, these areas do not contain significant levels of polyphenols, at least in comparison to the beans.[3]
You may not have even known, however, that the same plant that produces cocoa beans also contains a large amount of edible fruit, so does this contain the same nutrients? And why isn’t it widely consumed in the first place? Unfortunately, both its status as a byproduct of the seed which is integral to the commercial chocolate and cocoa industry and its high perishability (even higher than other notoriously quick-to-spoil fruits common in America) are to blame for it not being common outside the countries where it is grown. And while it does contain many vital minerals and nutrients as well as some trace cocoa flavanols, it is still not nearly as rich as the high flavanol beans.[3]
Key Takeaways:
The husk and stalk are not typically eaten and do not contain significant flavanols
The other parts of the cacao fruit does contain some important nutrients including trace flavanols
The fruit is also too perishable to be common in countries where it is not grown
In summary, when consuming high flavanol cacao, the part of the cacao crop you’re getting is in the cacao beans. This makes raw cacao nibs, the actual inner part of the bean itself, the most potent and best way to add flavanols to your diet. If you eat high flavanol cacao powder instead of the nibs, you are getting a higher flavanol concentration per gram.
Sources:
[1] https://www.80noirultra.com/pages/the-anatomy-of-cacao
What are the Main Parts of the Cacao Plant?
The cacao pod, like many other fruits, consists of a think outer rind or husk, a layer of edible fruit surrounding the seeds, an inner stalk off of which the seeds grow, and the shells of the seeds and the seeds (or the cocoa beans) themselves.
What Percent of the Cacao Plant is Cocoa Flavanols?
A challenging question with averages of cacao flavanols all of over the place. A great cacao pod from total weight could be 4% Flavonoids, and this is testing the cacao pod fresh and not dried. When the components of the cacao pod have been dried out, it is going to lose flavanols. Given that a single cacao pod can weigh up to a pound, however, this still makes cocoa beans the densest natural source--over 2500 mg per oz in the best cases.
How Much of the Cacao Plant at Harvest Is Water Weight?
A large majority of the cacao plant at harvest is water weight which is removed by drying even in the most minimally-processed and natural high flavanol cacao. Typically, it is around 70-75% or even higher.
Which Parts of the Cacao Plant Are Edible?
Aside from the cocoa beans, which are used to make all commercial and organic chocolate and cacao products, the fruit is edible as well, though it is unfortunately too perishable to be widely consumed outside of its natively-grown countries. The husk and stalk also contain dietary fiber and protein, but these are not as typically consumed.
Phillip McCauley
Phillip McCauley is the owner of Natural Zing and Vital Purple at TheOrganicCacao.com.
Writer / Researcher: Trey Norbey
