In short
Unsweetened cacao powder 200g has one declared ingredient, 100% pure cacao powder, with no colorings, preservatives or artificial flavorings of any kind. It’s gluten free, dairy free and plant-based, and it gives you the full, deep taste of cacao without the sugar that comes with drinking chocolate.
What is unsweetened cacao powder?
It’s what’s left after cacao beans are fermented, dried, roasted, pressed to remove most of their fat, and milled. Nothing goes in. What’s sold as “drinking chocolate” or “cocoa mix” in most supermarkets is typically 20–30% cacao and 70–80% sugar and milk solids.
The difference matters if you’re buying cacao for its flavor. The moment sugar enters the bag, the cacao is diluted: in a mix that’s three-quarters sugar and milk, only about a quarter of each spoonful is cacao.
What makes this cacao different
A single-line ingredient list
“Cacao en polvo 100% puro.” Nothing to interpret.
Explicitly free of the four usual suspects
No colorings, no preservatives, no artificial flavorings, no added sugar. Cheap cocoa powders often carry at least one.
Dairy-free and plant-based declared
Cacao is plant-based by nature, but shared processing lines are common in the chocolate industry. The declaration is what closes that gap.
Taste profile
Full, deep and properly bitter: the taste of cacao with nothing softening it. Best in hot chocolate with a sweetener of your choice, in baking where sugar is already present, or in a banana smoothie where the fruit carries it.
How to use it
Daily serving
10 g (2 tablespoons) for a drink, 5 g in a smoothie or bowl. A 200 g bag gives about 20 drinking servings.
Ways to use it
| Use | How |
|---|---|
| Hot chocolate | 10 g whisked into hot milk, sweetened to taste |
| Smoothies | 5–10 g with banana and peanut butter |
| Baking | 1:1 for cocoa powder in brownies, cakes, cookies |
| Homemade chocolate | With cacao butter and a sweetener |
| Overnight oats | 5 g the night before |
| No-bake bites | With dates and oats |
Where it comes from
Peru, from a producer founded in 2013 that specializes in Andean and Amazonian foods. Peru is one of the world’s largest producers of certified organic cacao, and the ICCO classifies it as a fine or flavor cacao origin.
Who it’s for
A good fit if you want cacao rather than a chocolate drink mix, control your own sugar, or need dairy free and gluten free confirmed on the label.
Look elsewhere if you want something you can add to hot water and drink immediately: this needs sweetening. Cacao contains theobromine, so keep it away from dogs.
Nutrition
Reference values for unsweetened cacao powder, per 100 g. The label on the pack may differ slightly.
| Energy | About 228 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 19 g |
| Fat | 14 g |
| Carbohydrate | 57 g |
| of which fiber | 34 g |
| of which sugars | 2 g |
| Magnesium | 499 mg |
| Iron | 13 mg |
| Potassium | 1,524 mg |
Specifications
| Botanical name | Theobroma cacao |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | 100% pure cacao powder |
| Added sugar | None |
| Colorings / preservatives | None |
| Dietary | Gluten free, dairy free, plant-based |
| Net weight | 200 g / 7 oz |
| Servings | About 20 × 10 g |
| Origin | Peru |
Pure cacao powder and chocolate drink mixes compared
| Pure cacao powder | Drinking chocolate mix | Instant cocoa packets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cacao content | 100% | Typically 20–30% | Often under 15% |
| Added sugar | None | High | High |
| Milk solids | None | Usually | Usually |
| Fiber per 100 g | About 34 g | About 5 g | About 2 g |
| You control sweetness | Yes | No | No |
Storage
Keep it airtight, cool and dry, away from strong smells. Don’t refrigerate.
Questions
Is cacao powder the same as drinking chocolate?
No. Cacao powder is 100% cacao. Drinking chocolate is typically 20–30% cacao, with the rest sugar and milk solids, so the difference in taste and sugar content is very large.
Can I make hot chocolate with unsweetened cacao powder?
Yes, and it’s better. Whisk 10 g into a splash of hot milk to make a paste, add the rest of the milk, and sweeten with honey, lucuma or a date. You control how sweet it gets.
Is cacao powder dairy-free?
Pure cacao powder is. Chocolate products often aren’t, and shared processing lines are common, so a dairy-free declaration on the pack is worth having if you’re strict about it.
How many servings are in a 200 g bag?
About 20 drinking servings of 10 g, or about 40 if you use 5 g in smoothies and bowls.
How much sugar is in pure cacao powder?
About 2 g per 100 g, all naturally occurring. At a 10 g serving, that’s about 0.2 g.
Why is my cacao drink bitter?
Because pure cacao is bitter. That isn’t a fault. Add a sweetener, or pair it with banana or lucuma, which sweeten and round it out at the same time.
Can I use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder in recipes?
Yes, 1:1. Check your leavening: natural cacao is acidic and reacts with baking soda.