Someone on here (Alliecat, I think) suggested I try raw cacoa nibs. I couldn’t find any, so bought some roasted ones from Aldi. I like them – unsweetended chocolate flavour and texture of nuts. Great as a snack, because the strong flavour means I only eat a few pieces at a time.

I’ve now found somewhere I can get raw ones from – but they’re far more expensve. Are they any healthier? Is the taste much different?

As a bag would last me a long time, I’m willing to pay the extra if they might be better in some way, but if there’s no real difference I’ll stick to the roasted ones.

In the spirit of full and frank disclosure, I will confess that I find raw cacao nibs more than a bit challenging. I am now inspired to see how I could roast them to make them more palatable! Google here I come.

Haha I keep a packet of raw cacao nibs in the pantry as my “emergency snack”, I tell myself I can have them instead of chocolate whenever cravings hit. Well, they have been sitting untouched for months and if I ever do decided to have one or two, I find the extreme unpalatable bitterness stops me from eating too many haha I guess that’s what you mean by “strong flavour” ?

I haven’t tried roasting them but it you find them too bitter I have a few ideas. I use them in smoothies, just throw them in the blender with everything else and it adds a bit of crunch. Also sprinkle a few on top of yoghurt, or on top of whipped cream served with berries for dessert

As to raw vs roasted, I remember reading a study that raw cocoa powder has more antioxidants (something like 2.5x) than regular roasted cocoa powder. I’m thinking that’s the only real difference with the nibs too. It’s up to you if that’s worth the cost or not, but given the inconsistent evidence on the benefits of antioxidants, I don’t think it is.

To me they do taste a little bitter and are ‘challenging’ when compared with sweet chocolate, but definitely not unpalatable. Whether that’s because they’re roasted rather than raw, I don’t know. (My husband hates them and says they’re very bitter.) I like them in muesli (I’m experimenting with making my own low carb muesli) or just on their own.

If extra antioxidants are the only difference, I don’t think it’s worth me paying more for the raw ones. I only eat a vey few at a time, so even at 2.5 times as much, they’re not going to give me much. If I ever do try them I’ll report back on whether they’re any more bitter than the roasted ones.

Hi everyone! I am a big proponent of these little gems. I’m including a link to my source, which won’t be of any help
to you in the UK, but the information on the health benefits listed is impressive, and might make it easier to get
used to the bitterness and raw coffee bean like taste ! 🙂

https://nuts.com//cacao/organic-nibs.html

Allie

Sorry, the link only takes you to the site. Just type “raw cacao nibs” in the search box, and you’ll find it!

Thanks, Alliecat!

Those look just like the roasted ones I bought. Do you know if the roasted ones are as healthy? As they suggest cooking with them, I guess roasting doesn’t destroy all the nitritional advantages.

I’m sorry, Squidge. This is the source I use for nuts and all superfoods, and I’ve never seen the roasted
type on offer. I’d probably just google “raw cacao nibs vs roasted cacao nibs” and see what turned up!
I’ve also pulverized them in an extra coffee bean grinder to use as a powder.

I had a look and results are inconclusive.The sites I found mostly compared raw cacao with chocolate – and of course diluting it with lots of sugar will reduce the nutrition. There’s not much info comparing raw cacao and roasted, but otherwise natural cacao.
The only definite point I found was that there wasn’t likely to be any Vit C in the roasted kind, but I probably get plenty of that anyway.