What Is Craft Cocoa? How It Differs from Ordinary Milk Cocoa

Craft cocoa is cocoa in which the maker selects the cacao and the supporting ingredients, and the drinker decides the final strength and sweetness.

Ordinary milk cocoa comes with the sugar and milk already blended in — dissolve it and it is done. Craft cocoa turns that around.
Inspice's the cocoa combines pure cocoa and cacao nibs with nine spices and rock salt, in a cup that can be brewed as dense as espresso.

Lately we hear that cacao tea is drawing attention.
The name seems to cover drinks brewed from cacao husks in general.

Inspice's cacao nib chai and this high-cacao spiced cocoa already carry a generous measure of cacao nibs (cacao husk) in the blend.

What is craft cocoa?

Coffee has "specialty"; beer has "craft". Cocoa has the same current. The maker discloses where the cacao comes from and how the supporting ingredients are chosen, and the drinker decides the shape of the final cup. That is craft cocoa.

One review told us, "I never knew craft cocoa was a genre." Once a thing has a name, it can be chosen. That is why we hold on to this word.

How it differs from ordinary milk cocoa

Ordinary milk cocoa is pre-blended with sugar, dairy and flavorings. Dissolve it in hot water or milk and every cup comes out the same, whoever makes it. That is a real strength — no effort required.

Craft cocoa is the reverse. The share of cacao itself is high, and the amount of sweetness and milk is up to the person brewing. So the same bag yields a dense cup one day and a gentle one the next.

In the case of the cocoa, the base is unsweetened pure cocoa and cacao nibs, joined by nine spices and rock salt. The nibs are left whole, so a light crunch lingers at the end of the cup.

Deciding the strength

Start by dissolving it in hot water. Cocoa powder contains fat, so tipped straight into cold milk, the particles cling together and form lumps. Work it into a paste with a small amount of hot water first, then pour in milk or soy milk. Changing the order alone changes the texture on the tongue.

With less milk, it approaches the density of espresso. Pour in more, and it becomes a soft, mellow cup. Use about 7 g per cup as the baseline; one 84 g bag makes about 12 cups.

Deciding the sweetness

The sweetness completes the cup. Honey, maple syrup, oligosaccharide syrup — whichever you like. Drinking it with no sweetness added at all is also something we recommend.

Customers tell us how they drink it: "soy milk with a touch of maple syrup", "less milk, sweet and dense", "iced in summer". Many add a proper measure of sweetness and treat it as a reward.

The bitterness of cacao comes from caffeine and theobromine. Through roasting, it turns into a toastiness like roasted nuts. That toastiness comes out more clearly with sweetness added. Think of the sweetness not as hiding the bitterness, but as lifting the aroma.

Do not add spices

the cocoa carries nine spices and rock salt: tonka bean, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, chili (the Espelette variety from the Basque Country), cassia, paprika, coriander and cumin.

Each one is placed to stretch the aroma of cacao in a different direction — toward woody, toward sweet, toward fruity, toward a honeyed sweetness. Those are the four directions cacao's aroma travels, and each has its appointed carrier.

Add cinnamon or cardamom afterwards, and the directions overlap and the outline blurs. Sweetness and milk are all it needs.

The chili, too, is not there to make it hot. Espelette is a mild-mannered variety, placed to wake the fruity side with a hint of warmth. The rock salt works from the side of taste, drawing the outline of sweetness and bitterness. That is why this cocoa is not salt-free. It uses no animal-derived ingredients, but rock salt is a natural mineral.

Beyond the cup

Because it carries no sugar and no milk, it can go straight into cooking and baking. Into the batter of baked sweets, into a cheesecake base. Some rub it into meat.

Just one note: the spices are already in there, so if a recipe calls for cinnamon or nutmeg, reduce or skip them and the result comes together better.

How each spice builds its aroma is collected in our Spice Encyclopedia.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What is craft cocoa?
A. Cocoa in which the maker selects the cacao and supporting ingredients, and the drinker decides the strength and sweetness. It is the reverse of ordinary milk cocoa, which comes pre-blended with sugar and milk.

Q. Is it all right to drink it sweet?
A. Yes. We recommend adding honey, maple syrup or oligosaccharide syrup. Deciding your own sweetness is the advantage of craft cocoa.

Q. How do I brew it dense?
A. Work it into a paste with a small amount of hot water, then pour in only a little milk. You get a cup as dense as espresso.