Kiva Raw Organic Cacao Powder (Unsweetened Cocoa and Dark Chocolate Powder) Criollo Cacao Beans 1 LB (Large)

Having tried 3 different major brands of raw/organic cacao powder so far, this is my hands down favorite. I'm not sure how or why, but the Kiva has the deepest, richest, and overall best taste to me. I have cut processed sugars out of my diet and this cacao powder actually has a very naturally sweet taste to me - with no added sweetener. So delicious when added to a smoothie with frozen fruit and a good helping of greens - makes a delicious but totally healthy treat. I start every single morning with a green smoothie, which includes a mixture of RO water w/trace minerals added, turmeric root, raw red beets, a mix of organic spinach, kale, and chard, cacao powder, glutamine powder, Kiva moringa leaf powder, hydrolyzed collagen powder, chia seeds, banana, and frozen strawberries and blueberries. Nutritionally packed but delicious! I do have to say, price-wise it is more expensive than the other cacao powder I use regularly - Viva Labs (especially with Subscribe and Save). So, when I'm pinching my pennies, I do cheat on Kiva and use Viva Labs in my smoothies to reap that cost savings. But for applications where I want the rich chocolate flavor of the cacao powder to shine (aka anything but green smoothies) - I'm picking Kiva.Some of those other applications have been healthy chocolate brownies (made with coconut oil and coconut flour, yum) and hot cocoa with a little bit of honey which is divine! Or a more simple smoothie with just fruit and cacao powder. One day I really want to try mixing this cacao with melted coconut oil and making chocolate covered strawberries!

This stuff is SO GOOD. I love the taste of it, but I can't quite figure out how to use it. I tried mixing it into 2% milk, and that did not work, as it didn't dissolve in the milk at all but floated in clumps on top. I tried mixing it into one of my chocolate banana protein + green superfood morning shakes (which normally taste sweet and pleasant) and it was so bitter that I had a very serious debate about whether to throw it out before I chugged it down. I tried mixing it into pancakes (which was also not easy to do) and just about gagged on them before adding a healthy dose of sugar to the batter. I haven't yet tried mixing it into brownie batter, but that's next on my list.There's nothing I love more than dark chocolate, but you would definitely have to have a taste for dark chocolate (or possibly coffee? I hate coffee, but the pancakes were so unpleasant to me because they tasted like coffee) before being happy with the taste of this cacao powder. I'm certain that I didn't make a mistake in purchasing this, but I'm just going to have to keep exploring options on how to use this, because I am NOT adding sugar to my pancakes again.

I’m a raw cacao aficionado so I’m super picky with the aroma, how bold & smooth , source of the beans , process the beans underwent to name a few.This by far meets me 90 percent over 100 versus the rest which are 50-60 percent below my standard ratings .

I had a tablespoon of this to my morning coffee. Love the taste. But be warned that it tends to clump even when stirring vigorously in a warm liquid.

This has a deep, rich, intense chocolate flavor, yet it's not bitter or overpowering. It's smooth. It's make wonderful hot chocolate with milk and raw honey. To make a cup of chocolate, use 12oz of milk, 1 heaping tbsp. of the cacao and sweeten with honey to taste. I heat the milk, but this would be equally as good with cold milk. It blends easily. To avoid lumps put powder and honey in cup, add a small amount of milk, stir well, and then add the rest of the milk. If having it cold, still stir the cacao and honey with a small amount of warm milk, and then add the cold milk.This is great for baking and smoothies, too. However you would use chocolate, you can use this. The simplicity of the flavor, without additives, fat, chemicals and added flavorings actually has a much better flavor than dark chocolate. It taste pureI wish the best of health to everyone.

My husband had bought some powdered cocoa that I just thought was terrible. It didn't taste anything like chocolate to me. More like plastic. Yuck. But this stuff? This stuff is fantastic! One of my big issues with pre-made chocolate products, especially drink mixes, is that they're way too sweet (and I LOVE sugar, so if *I* think they're too sweet...). I bought this because it was in the Gold Box specials and it had a lot of great reviews. I thought I'd give it a try. I'm *really* glad I did. The powder is very fine, so can get unexpectedly messy especially when closing the zip bag (and they fill that bag UP, let me tell you! Kiva does *not* skimp on their product). I transferred a cup or so of it to an old jam jar so I don't give myself cacao-face when closing the bag (don't get me wrong -- there are worse things than amazing chocolate up your nose!).Lately, I've been making my cappuccino with chocolate milk added to regular milk, which gives it just enough sweetness that I don't have to add sugar. But that adds the expense of buying the chocolate milk and, let's face it, sometimes my husband just grabs whatever chocolate milk is on the shelf without paying attention to whether it's the yummy chocolate milk or not. So I also bought this powder in hopes of not having to bet on my husband's chocolate milk taste (I did mention the cocoa powder *he* enjoys tastes like chocolate made from plastic or something, right?) and also, maybe saving a few bucks a week. This morning, I put a teaspoon into my cappuccino and it was *perfect*. My husband says that it didn't taste chocolatey enough, but what does he know? It was perfect. Added half a teaspoon of sugar and a bit of truvia (I mentioned I love sugar, right? Yeah, well, sugar loves my hips, so I try to cut my intake a bit here and there) and it was probably the most perfect mocha I've ever made. Tomorrow, I'm going to add cayenne pepper powder for spice (it's like Mexican hot chocolate but with espresso! That stuff will wake you up!).Thanks, Kiva! I'll definitely be back :)