Garnishes

Cacao Nibs

Cacao nibs are cocoa beans that have been fermented, dried, roasted, cracked and shelled, with nothing added: no sugar and no milk. They taste of dry, bitter cocoa and carry a little caffeine, 0.1 to 0.7% in the bean against about 1.2% in dry coffee beans. In drinks they are steeped in a spirit or syrup and strained out, or scattered as a garnish.

Quick Facts

Legal categoryFood

OriginGrown across the cacao belt: West Africa, Central and South America

Flavour Strengthlight medium

Our keeping timeAround a year sealed; best in the first few months.

Storage

Airtight, cool and dark. Nibs keep well but stale slowly once the roast oils oxidise.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens. Some packs carry a may-contain warning for milk or nuts from shared lines: check the pack.

The ingredient

About Cacao Nibs

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

Roasted cocoaBitterNutty

Tasting Notes

Dry, bitter roasted cocoa with a faint nuttiness; no sweetness.

The bean before the sugar

Cocoa beans are fermented, dried and roasted, then cracked and shelled; the pieces are nibs. Ground smooth with sugar and often milk, they become chocolate. Left as they are, they taste of dry, bitter roasted cocoa with a faint nuttiness, and they carry a little caffeine and theobromine.

Four cocoa ingredients do four jobs

Cacao nibs against the other cocoa ingredients in a bar

Cacao nibs

Sugar: None
Alcohol: None
Best use: Infusions and garnish
Keeping: About a year sealed

Cocoa powder

Sugar: None (unsweetened)
Alcohol: None
Best use: Dusting a foam
Keeping: Months, sealed

Crème de cacao

Sugar: At least 250g a litre
Alcohol: About 24%
Best use: Mixing, measured
Keeping: A year or more open

Chocolate bitters

Sugar: Negligible
Alcohol: High, in dashes
Best use: Aroma
Keeping: Years

Ingredient	Sugar	Alcohol	Best use	Keeping
Cacao nibs	None	None	Infusions and garnish	About a year sealed
Cocoa powder	None (unsweetened)	None	Dusting a foam	Months, sealed
Crème de cacao	At least 250g a litre	About 24%	Mixing, measured	A year or more open
Chocolate bitters	Negligible	High, in dashes	Aroma	Years

Cocoa powder clouds a cold liquid and suits only dusting. Crème de cacao brings cocoa with a great deal of sugar. Chocolate bitters bring aroma in dashes. Nibs give cocoa and bitterness with no sugar, which is the reason to keep them.

Steep, taste and strain

For a spirit, warm a tablespoon of nibs in a dry pan, add them to about 250ml and taste daily; cocoa arrives first and bitterness later. For a syrup, steep them in warm simple syrup made 1:1 by weight and strain fine; it keeps one week in the fridge, like any infused syrup. Strain twice, sieve then coffee filter, to keep grit out.

Smell tells you when they have gone

Keep nibs airtight, cool and dark. They keep about a year sealed, freshest in the first few months, and they go stale rather than unsafe as the roast oils oxidise. A stale nib smells flat, of cardboard more than cocoa, and gives that to whatever it is steeped in.

Using it

Using Cacao Nibs

Usage

Steeped in a spirit for a dry cocoa note, a tablespoon to start in a 250ml bottle, tasted daily and strained when it is right. Steeped in warm simple syrup for a cocoa syrup that keeps one week refrigerated. A pinch on a stirred dark drink adds crunch and bitterness.

Pro Tip

Taste a nib infusion every day. Cocoa comes out early and the bitterness follows, so the right moment to strain is when the spirit tastes of chocolate and before it turns astringent.

Top Tips

Warm the nibs in a dry pan for a minute before steeping. It wakes the roast.
Strain through a fine sieve, then through a coffee filter, so no grit reaches the bottle.
Sweeten separately. Nibs bring cocoa and bitterness, never sugar.
Buy small bags. The roast fades in months, and a little goes a long way.

Possible Substitutions

Unsweetened cocoa powder: dusting only, since it clouds an infusion
Very dark chocolate, chopped: an infusion with some sugar and fat

Production Method

Cocoa beans fermented, dried and roasted, then cracked and deshelled into pieces. Nothing is added; chocolate is made by grinding nibs with sugar and often milk.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What are cacao nibs?

Pieces of roasted cocoa bean. The beans are fermented, dried and roasted, then cracked and their shells removed, and the pieces left are nibs. Nothing is added, so they taste of cocoa without the sugar and milk that turn ground nibs into chocolate.

Are cacao nibs the same as chocolate?

They are what chocolate starts from. Chocolate is nibs ground smooth with sugar and often milk; nibs are the roasted bean with nothing added. That is why they taste dry and bitter, and why they suit an infusion where you want cocoa without sweetness.

How do you infuse a spirit with cacao nibs?

Warm a tablespoon of nibs in a dry pan, add them to about 250ml of rum, bourbon or vodka, seal and leave at room temperature. Taste daily, and once the cocoa is there pass it through a sieve and then a paper filter, usually within a few days. Sweeten the drink separately.

Can you make a syrup with cacao nibs?

Yes. Steep nibs in warm simple syrup, made 1:1 by weight, until it tastes of cocoa, then strain it fine. Treat it like any infused syrup: refrigerated, it keeps one week. It gives cocoa without the alcohol of crème de cacao.

Do cacao nibs contain caffeine?

A little. Cocoa beans hold between 0.1% and 0.7% caffeine, against about 1.2% in dry coffee beans, plus theobromine, a related stimulant. A tablespoon steeped in a bottle of spirit passes on only part of that, spread over many drinks.

How long do cacao nibs keep?

About a year sealed, freshest in the first few months. Keep them airtight, cool and dark. They go stale rather than off: the roast oils oxidise, and a jar that no longer smells of roasted cocoa will not flavour a spirit either.

Are cacao nibs safe for nut allergies?

Cocoa is not one of the 14 allergens, and nibs have nothing added. Some packs carry a may-contain warning for milk or nuts from shared production lines, so read the pack before using them for anyone with an allergy.

Make something

Made with Cacao Nibs

Often Used With

Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 11 October 2026

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