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
To be considered milk chocolate, products must contain at least 10% chocolate liquor, which is a paste made from ground cocoa beans and contains no alcohol.
—Dee-Ann Durbin, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Cocoa prices have dropped in recent months, but, as experts have told CBS News, retail prices remain sticky because of a lag between purchases of raw cocoa beans and when companies produce their candies.
—CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
To be considered milk chocolate, products must contain at least 10% chocolate liquor, which is a paste made from ground cocoa beans and contains no alcohol.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
Dandelion has been crafting bean-to-bar chocolate San Francisco’s Mission District for more than 10 years, using just two ingredients (cocoa beans and organic sugar) to make its confections sing.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cocoa bean
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Dee-Ann Durbin, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Cocoa prices have dropped in recent months, but, as experts have told CBS News, retail prices remain sticky because of a lag between purchases of raw cocoa beans and when companies produce their candies.
—CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
To be considered milk chocolate, products must contain at least 10% chocolate liquor, which is a paste made from ground cocoa beans and contains no alcohol.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
Dandelion has been crafting bean-to-bar chocolate San Francisco’s Mission District for more than 10 years, using just two ingredients (cocoa beans and organic sugar) to make its confections sing.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 24 Jan. 2026
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 2 Mar. 2026.
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