When you need something to warm you up on a cold day, do you choose a creamy chocolate beverage or an illegal drug?
Regardless of the choices you make in your personal life, you need to know the difference between coca and cocoa in your writing. One refers to a product derived from a cacao plant, while the other is a plant used to make cocaine.
Clearly, this is not a mistake you want to make in professional correspondence.
What is the Difference Between Coca and Cocoa?
In this article, I will compare cocoa vs. coca. I will use each of these words in at least one example sentence, so you can see how they appear in context.
Plus, I will show you a helpful memory tool that will allow you to choose either cocoa or coca correctly each time.
When to Use Cocoa
What does cocoa mean? Cocoa is a noun that has two meanings. One of these meanings is a creamy chocolate-flavored drink. The other meaning is the powder used to make such drinks.
Cocoa powder comes from cacao beans, which grow on cacao plants. Despite the confusing spelling similarities, the plant and its beans are always cacao plants, never cocoa plants.
Some trendy establishments might use cacao to refer to their drinks in a misguided attempt at authenticity, but this usage is nonstandard.
Here are some examples of cocoa in a sentence,
- Marge made herself a mug of hot cocoa when she finished shoveling the fresh snow out of her driveway.
- One of the ingredients in my chocolate sheet cake recipe is Hershey’s cocoa, which says “100% cacao” on the label.
- In a small study in the journal Nature Neuroscience, healthy people, ages 50 to 69, who drank a mixture high in antioxidants called cocoa flavanols for three months performed better on a memory test than people who drank a low-flavanol mixture. –The New York Times
If you are a fan of chocolate, you are a fan of cocoa but not necessarily a fan of coca.
When to Use Coca
What does coca mean? Coca refers to four plants native to South America that are used to make cocaine. These plants are different from the cacao plant used to make cocoa. Interestingly, the soft drink Coca-Cola contained coca products until the early 20th century.
Today, though, cocaine is illegal almost everywhere. Still, it is often used recreationally, despite being a dangerous stimulant with serious health effects. Most cocaine is manufactured in South America and smuggled to other parts of the world, especially North America and Europe.
Here are some examples of coca in a sentence,
- Native South Americans have used the leaves of the coca plant as a stimulant since ancient times.
- According to some reports, coca plants are being grown in southern Mexico to be used in the drug trade.
- Cultivation of the cocaine-producing coca plant rose to a record here last year, U.S. figures showed Tuesday, putting pressure on Colombia’s government to implement ambitious programs to wean farmers off illicit crops. –The Wall Street Journal
Trick to Remember the Difference
Use cocoa to refer to a delicious drink or a powder made from cacao beans. Use coca to refer to the leaves of the plants used to manufacture cocaine.
Coca vs. Cocoa Check: Since coca is part of the word cocaine, it should be simple to remember that coca plants are used to make this dangerous drug.
Summary
Is it coca or cocoa? While these spellings are quite similar, they refer to very different things.
- Cocoa refers to a powder made from cacao beans, or to a drink made with this powder.
- Coca refers to plants that are used to make cocaine.
The plants that grow cacao beans are not the same plants used to make cocaine.
When you need a warm relaxing drink before bedtime, choose cocoa, not the stimulant drug cocaine.
FAQs
A common mistake people make when using these words is confusing the two. Coca is the source of cocaine, while Cocoa is the powder used to make chocolate. Another mistake is mispronouncing the words; Coca should be pronounced 'CO-kuh' and Cocoa should be pronounced 'KOH-koh'.
Is there a difference between Coco and cocoa? ›
Cacao is the raw, unprocessed version of cocoa. Both can benefit your health, but it's best to stick to either the raw version, cacao, or a chocolate product that has a high chocolate liquor content. Raw cacao can take some getting used to. It tastes a little different than cocoa products and can be slightly bitter.
Is cocoa and chocolate two different things? ›
Cocoa and chocolate are two terms often used interchangeably, but they represent distinct stages and forms in the world of chocolate. Let's explore the differences between cocoa and chocolate, from their production processes to flavor profiles and culinary uses.
What is cocoa explained? ›
Cocoa is the key ingredient in chocolate and chocolate confections. The cocoa bean is the seed of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), a tropical plant indigenous to the equatorial regions of the Americas. From the processed cocoa bean comes the fluid paste, or liquor, from which cocoa powder and chocolate are made.
Is coca same as coffee? ›
Coca, coffee, and cacao are 3 completely different plants, producing 3 very different products. No relation whatsoever. The only relation coffee and cacao have is that both coffee and chocolate (which is made from cacao) were at one point both dark brown drinks.
Is cacao powder the same as coca? ›
Cocoa powder and cacao powder are very similar, the only difference being that cocoa is processed at a much higher temperature (and often packaged cocoa contains added sugar and dairy).
Is 100% cocoa the same as cacao? ›
Cacao vs. Cocoa. While cacao refers to cacao beans that have not been roasted, what is called cocoa is made of beans that have been roasted. So, in turn, a product that is labeled cacao is the raw bean and is often packaged as vegan chocolate that has been minimally processed with no additives.
Why is Coco spelled cocoa? ›
So where does 'cocoa' come from? Well, it's widely believed that the term 'cocoa' originates from a spelling mistake when the English translated it from Spanish. This is why in Hispanic languages cacao is the only word that's ever used, whilst in English cocoa is more common.
Is Coco and Coconut the same thing? ›
The spherical fruit with a thick husk of coir on the outside and a sweet edible liquid and meat on the inside comes from the coconut palm, also known as the coco. The coconut is the nut of a coco, though nut here uses the looser meaning of the term, as botanically it is considered a drupe.
Is Coco the same as chocolate? ›
Cocoa and chocolate are both made from the beans of the cocoa pod. They are difference in the step of extracting, and the components inside are not the same. Chocolate is the fermentation of cocoa beans to produce microorganisms and accelerate many nutrients in cocoa beans for maximum efficiency.
Cacao helps us relax, and is a gentler, longer-lasting, and more pleasant energy source than coffee. It is also one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, so with every cup you're not just getting a 'quick fix', you're getting a highly nutritious (and delicious) boost of goodness.
Is cocoa healthy? ›
Since cocoa is rich in phytonutrients but low in fat and sugar, the calories you get from cocoa powder will be packed with healthy chemicals. Studies have also found that cocoa helps to regulate energy use and metabolism while also increasing feelings of fullness.
What does 100% cocoa mean? ›
With no other ingredients, 100% cocoa chocolate relies solely on the flavour profile of the cocoa bean, the roasting and preparation of the cocoa and where it was grown for their unique flavours.
Is cocoa Asexual? ›
Cacao plants can be propagated by botanical seed (sexual propagation) and vegetative methods (asexual propagation); the latter includes conventional vegetative propagation techniques such as grafting, cuttings, and air layering, as well as tissue culture [6, 7].
What does 90% cocoa mean? ›
It refers to cocoa solids, like powder and butter. Lower % (50-60%) give a sweeter flavour, lighter colour, and smoother texture. A higher % (70-90%) means more cocoa and less sugar, giving a bitter undertone, darker colour, and grainy texture.
Are coca leaves illegal in the US? ›
It is illegal to bring coca leaves into the United States for any purpose, including for use for brewing tea or for chewing. Cocaine is a Schedule II narcotic and is derived from coca leaves and grown in Bolivia, Peru and Colombia.
Is cacao the same as drinking chocolate? ›
The two products have a basic ingredient in common — cacao — but are processed and blended differently. Hot cocoa is often flat and sweet, while drinking chocolate is rich and complex in flavor, and can be sweetened or unsweetened.
Is Nestle the same as cocoa powder? ›
Hershey's, Nestle and Ghirardelli are all natural cocoa powders.
What are the two main types of cocoa? ›
Criollo and Trinitario are the fine varieties prized for making chocolates with the most interesting and complex flavours. Forastero is typically the hardier, more reliable strain and has a higher yield of cacao pods.
What does cocoa mean? Cocoa is a noun that has two meanings. One of these meanings is a creamy chocolate-flavored drink. The other meaning is the powder used to make such drinks.
What does coca mean? Coca refers to four plants native to South America that are used to make cocaine. These plants are different from the cacao plant used to make cocoa. Interestingly, the soft drink Coca-Cola contained coca products until the early 20th century.
Use cocoa to refer to a delicious drink or a powder made from cacao beans. Use coca to refer to the leaves of the plants used to manufacture cocaine.