In Spain, ColaCao needs no introduction. Since 1946, it has been the cocoa drink that generations have stirred into their morning milk, and the brand is still a fixture on breakfast tables across the country.
Most people associate ColaCao with that classic soluble drink: a ready-to-mix powder designed to dissolve in milk. ColaCao Puro is something different. It’s cocoa in its simplest form, with one ingredient on the label and nothing added to it. Here’s what that means, what it tastes like, and what you can do with it.
What’s inside (and what isn’t)
The ingredients list for ColaCao Pure is one line long: fat-reduced cocoa, 100%. That’s the whole product.
“Fat-reduced” simply means that part of the cocoa butter has been pressed out of the cocoa before being ground into powder. This is standard for cocoa powder, and it’s what gives it a fine, smooth texture that blends well into drinks, batters and sauces.
What’s just as telling is what you won’t find in the pack. ColaCao Pure has no added sugar, no sweeteners and no additives. It’s also gluten-free, which makes it a straightforward choice for anyone who needs to keep an eye on that.
The cocoa itself is Rainforest Alliance certified. The certification supports cocoa farmers in improving their productivity and the quality of their crops, while protecting the people and ecosystems of the regions where cocoa is grown.
The flavour of pure cocoa
Open a pack of ColaCao Puro and the first thing you’ll notice is the colour: a deep, rich brown. Then comes the aroma, unmistakably cocoa. Because nothing else has been added, the powder keeps cocoa’s intense flavour and its full range of nuances, from roasted, slightly bitter notes to a long, rounded finish.
That’s what sets it apart from other cocoa products on the shelf. Soluble cocoa drinks, like the classic ColaCao, combine cocoa with sugar and other ingredients so they dissolve easily. Chocolate goes a step further, blending cocoa with cocoa butter, sugar and often milk. Pure cocoa sits at the start of that chain: there’s no sugar softening the edges, so what you taste is the cocoa itself.
Being the ingredient rather than the finished product is also what makes it so versatile. With nothing else in the mix, it adapts to whatever you’re making instead of steering the recipe in one direction. ColaCao Puro gives you the flavour, and you decide how sweet, how strong and how creamy you want the end result to be.
What you can make with it
This is where ColaCao Puro really comes into its own. A few ideas to get started:
- Your own hot chocolate. Mix a spoonful of cocoa with a splash of hot milk to form a smooth paste, then top up with the rest of the milk and sweeten to taste. It works just as well with plant-based drinks.
- Coffee-shop favourites at home. Add it to an espresso and steamed milk for a mocha, or blend it into cold milk with ice and banana for a quick shake.
- Baking. Brownies, chocolate sponges, cookies, muffins and frostings all benefit from a cocoa that brings flavour without extra sugar, so you stay in control of the sweetness. Replacing a little of the flour in a plain sponge with cocoa is an easy way to turn it into a chocolate one.
- Breakfast. Stir it into porridge, yoghurt or a smoothie bowl for a deeper flavour first thing in the morning.
- Savoury dishes. Cocoa has a long history in savoury cooking, from Mexican mole to slow-cooked stews and chilli, where a small amount adds depth and colour. If you want to try something unexpected, our cocoa hummus recipe is a good place to start, and our post on cocoa in haute cuisine can give you even more inspiration.
A tip for all of the above: because pure cocoa is intense, a little goes a long way. Start with a small amount and adjust as you go.
Back to the essentials
For 80 years, ColaCao has been about cocoa and the small moments it’s part of: a warm drink before school, a snack after a long day, something shared around the kitchen table. ColaCao Pure keeps that same idea and strips it back to the essentials. One ingredient, responsibly sourced, with all the flavour that cocoa has to offer and plenty of room for you to make it your own.