At the recommendation of my pharmacist, I replaced hot coffee daily with hot cacao. My gut has truly begun healing since this change. I am very satisfied with the product. As with any habit change, I still wanted coffee, so I 'rewarded' myself with one cup a week. I have grown so accustomed to the cacao that I eventually took my coffee pot out of my kitchen because it simply wasn't as good at my hot cacao.
Since I use this product daily, I fill a canister next to my hot water pot and prepare from it while leaving the bag in the cabinet...similar to how I use flour. That way if the zip lock fails on the bag, it's really not a big deal.
Cacao powder is made from fermented beans that have not been roasted. They are processed at low temperatures and then milled into a powder. The result is a powder that's bitter in taste and higher in nutritional content. Cocoa powder on the other hand is made from beans that are both fermented and roasted, and then processed at a much higher temperature. The result is a less bitter, slightly darker powder that has lost some of its nutritional value. Cocoa powder generally has additives (dairy & sugar) to make the taste more amenable. This cacao product has no added dairy or sugar, although I do add liquid stevia to my cup.
If you need caffeine free...this is not the product for you. All cacao beans contain some amount of naturally occurring caffeine. The caffeine content in cacao is significantly lower than what you'd get from a cup of coffee. Here's what you can expect from Cacao Powder: Cacao Powder = 6.6mg of caffeine per 1 teaspoon of powder. And for a little perspective: Coffee; 1 cup brewed: 80-135mg; Coffee; 1 cup drip: 115-175mg; Coffee; 1 shot espresso: 75-100mg; Black tea; 1 cup steeped: 49-90mg; Matcha tea; 1 cup brewed: 45-60mg; Green tea; 1 cup steeped: 20-45mg
With regard to the warning label on the product bag: The presence of heavy metals (cadmium; lead) depends upon the origin of the product, the nutrient content of the soil and the age of the plant. The cacao plant (as with any other plant) absorbs nutrients from the soil. So metals are not added ingredients to the product, they are part of the naturally occurring process IF they are present in the soil. Their levels of concentration depend upon where the product was grown and the age of the plants that produced the cacao beans. This information is true about cocoa/cacao even if a standard warning label does not appear on the packaging.
I have purchased this product six times and am quite happy with its quality. Hope this information has been helpful.
ORGANIC CACAO POWDER
