cocoa bean
noun
plural cocoa beans
: a dried, fermented, fatty seed of the fruit of a South American tropical evergreen tree (Theobroma cacao of the family Malvaceae) that is used in making cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter : cacao sense 1
The cocoa bean contains cocoa solids (particles) and about 53 percent cocoa butter.—
Rose Levy Beranbaum
Rose Levy BeranbaumExamples of cocoa bean in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Cacao nibs are small pieces of cocoa bean.
—Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 11 Sep. 2025
Experimenting with chocolates By sequencing the DNA of fermenting cocoa beans from three Colombian farms, researchers discovered that the most flavorful chocolate came from beans hosting a distinct microbial community.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2025
In addition to being a brain-friendly upper, the coffee bean is an antioxidant warrior packed with vitamins and minerals like its close cousin, the cocoa bean.
—Catharine Kaufman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025
Farmers, particularly small-scale ones, might be able to preserve the quality of their cocoa beans, Gopaulchan says, especially when fermentations fail from an unexpected rainy season or undesirable microbes.
—Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocoa bean
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 11 Sep. 2025
Experimenting with chocolates By sequencing the DNA of fermenting cocoa beans from three Colombian farms, researchers discovered that the most flavorful chocolate came from beans hosting a distinct microbial community.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2025
In addition to being a brain-friendly upper, the coffee bean is an antioxidant warrior packed with vitamins and minerals like its close cousin, the cocoa bean.
—Catharine Kaufman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025
Farmers, particularly small-scale ones, might be able to preserve the quality of their cocoa beans, Gopaulchan says, especially when fermentations fail from an unexpected rainy season or undesirable microbes.
—Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocoa bean
Cite this Entry
“Cocoa bean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cocoa%20bean. Accessed 28 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share