Cacao paste (also called cacao mass, cacao liquor, or cocoa mass) is the product of grinding roasted cacao nibs until the cocoa butter inside each cell is fully released. It contains only the fat and solids that were inside the bean....

Most cacao content online skips or glosses the details of this process. Kampura ferments on the farm in Izabal, Guatemala, which is unusual. Most ceremonial cacao brands buy pre-fermented beans from intermediaries and have no direct control over this step.

“Raw cacao” usually refers to cacao products that have not been roasted at high temperatures. However, cacao beans must still be fermented and dried after harvest, processes that naturally generate heat and mean most cacao is not technically raw in...