The Arusha - Gourmet Cacao Nibs From Tanzania - For Extracts & Baking

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Another amazing spice from the beautiful country of Tanzania. Cacao is one of the world's first super foods. It grows today in the bean belt in most of the same locations as vanilla beans. And, similar to vanilla beans, the origin of the bean has a significant impact on the taste of the cacao. Tanzania cacao is known for its dark, rich chocolate flavor with cherry and citrus undertones.

The Mayans and Aztecs called cacao "The Food of the Gods" because of its sweet aroma and taste. Grown from an Evergreen tree called the Thobroma Cacao, this amazing fruit is the source of familiar sweetness recognized around the world. The cacao tree is native to the Amazon rain forrest and was first domesticated 5,300 years ago by the Olmecs of Southern Mexico and is now grown in many regions where vanilla beans are grown. 

We named this Tanzanian-grown super fruit after the beautiful city of Arusha at the base of Mt. Meru, which is also the gateway city to the famous Mt. Kilimanjaro. 

(Masai village near Arusha.)

Cacao nibs are made by harvesting the large yellow/red cacao pods, removing the beans from their white pulp inside, roasting, cracking and deshelling the seeds and finally crushing the hard-to-break seed for ease of use in your extracting.  

When you open a pouch of The Arusha, it will immediately release a rich, dark, earthy chocolate aroma with a subtile hint of citrus and cherries. Many people use these in smoothies, for baking and even to replace chocolate chips in cookies for a crunchier and healthier chocolate experience. We use them for extracting by adding them to spirits for a rich, chocolate extract that will last in your cupboard for years. 

(Image of the fruit with the beans inside the white membrane. Beans are removed, roasted, deshelled and crushed to make nibs easy to use in the kitchen.)

Use these cacao nibs to make chocolate extracts by themselves or with vanilla beans for a mocha affect. Use them with coconut flakes and apricot kernels for an "Almond Joy" extract experience. You can find cacao extract recipes in our recipe blog on this site for more ideas. And, unlike DIY vanilla extract, a DIY cacao extract will be ready in weeks, not a full year, so it's a great extract to make while you're waiting for your vanilla extract to be ready.