cocoa beans, a seed of of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) which is used to create cocoa powder and cocoa butter which are key ingredients of chocolate. The beans themselves can be crushed od chopped into "nibs" for a variety of culinary uses, from salad dressing to ice cream toppings: thry can also add thickness to a sauce or texture to a cake. The flavours tend to be pungent and untamed, while quality is very obvious.
