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Emmy Eats (& Drinks) Samoa - Koko Samoa | an American tastes Samoan treats

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Koko Samoa at Va'i Moana

Koko Samoa is the popular Samoan chocolate beverage made from organic cacao beans.
This is how it is prepared at Va'i Moana Seaside Lodge in Asau Bay on the big island of Savai'i, Samoa.
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Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Cacao

Cacao trees are traditionally grown in the shade for 4-5 years and then planted into full sun to produce for a further 3-4 years. However, the cacao can be harvested after only 2-3 years – at the beginning of the rainy season – before the pods have had time to fully mature. The harvest is carried by hand, pods are cracked open and beans and surrounding pulp are fermented for 3-5 days. The beans then dry slowly on racks and later in the oven to remove as much of the natural cocoa butter as possible. This drying process can take 10 days or more.

Cacao tree seeds are very small and statistical analysis of over 34,000 trees in 2011 showed that each tree produced around 200 beans/year. That’s about 1 kg of cocoa beans/year - that’s a kilo of beans from every tree in the world!

The next stage is concentration of the cacao paste which makes it easier to ferment. The beans are fragmented into ‘nibs’ before they are ground. It is the liquid cacao that is extracted from the bean and pressed to form a cacao paste. The product is a chocolate in its purest form and provides a creamy texture and earthy taste.

How to use Cacao Paste
Also known as cacao liquor or cacao mass, cacao paste is a natural product made from cold-pressing unroasted Cacao beans (raw cacao) to produce a pure, rich and earthy flavoured cacao paste. It is greatly valued for its flavour note and its ability to enhance the flavours of other ingredients in chocolates and other food products.

Types of Cacao Paste
The three main varieties of cocoa plant are Forastero, Criollo and Trinitario, and the cacao paste that come from these varieties. Until the 18th century, plantations mostly grew Criollo beans. However, today they make up less than 5% of cocoa production, with high-yielding Forastero dominating the world market for bulk, mainstream processing.

In Samoa we use a very unique variety of cocoa bean for our cacao paste and it fits perfectly with our tropical island lifestyle. We have a true passion for all natural foods. Our joy at The Koko Samoa is to share foods like cacao paste with you and what better place to start than in our favourite beverage. In Samoa, the highly prized Samoan Trinitario is sought after all over the world, and it's this cacao that we make our cacao paste from.

Cacao paste is a popular product worldwide. It can be used by chocolatiers as a substitute for cacao liquor (or just cacao for the less formal) in many chocolate recipes. It can also be used in making hot chocolate, cooking and drinks.

Cacao paste is unique to the world of food as it contains several rare and powerful substances that are not found in any other food. It contains high levels of magnesium, which is good for heart health. It also has high levels of Iron and Magnesium, which help improve circulation, lower blood pressure and combat depression. In addition to this, it contains high levels of antioxidants which give it anti-aging properties.

The most prized way to consume the cacao fruit was as a chocolate beverage. Powdered seeds were mixed with water and sometimes coconut oil, then heated together over an open fire until a rich thick liquid was formed. This chocolate drink was then consumed from shells, which were rinsed out repeatedly until they were white again.

Powdering cacao beans then turning it into a beverage however isn't unique to Samoa in that there are a few ancient cultures, like the Mayans, who use similar cacao beverages for ceremonial purposes. As with the case with chocolate, the flavour of the beverage is dependant on the beans used, and so Koko Samoa in our mind at least, holds the title as king of hot cocoa.

There are a lot of chocolate companies that want to buy from Samoa because of the premium grade Samoan Trinitario cacao. It is an old species of cacao that was once brought over from the Amazon to Polynesia and is now only found in Samoa.

So it’s not surprising that everyone wants our Koko Samoa. We even heard from chocolate makers abroad that they're willing to pay $200 a kilo for fresh cacao beans! And he would buy up about 10 tonnes of fresh beans for his business!

We have a hard time keeping up with everyone’s orders, which is why we often have a shortage of Koko Samoa.

Koko Samoa can be made with just one ingredient, cacao. However Koko Samoa is often added to other dishes. I mean, chocolate flavoured anything, who wouldn't! Koko Samoa is also combined with ingredients such as coconut milk, coconut cream, water, pandanus leaves or koloale (sugarcane).

Mostly though, our customers replace their coffee routine with Koko Samoa single-serve pods which has a slower release of that buzz, and also satisfies that chocolate craving! It's a the beverage luxury without any guilt.
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Koko Rice Recipe: Polynesian Cultural Center

Koko Rice is a staple across Samoa, and in Samoan communities around the world. Genius in its simplicity, many Samoans list it as ‘comfort food’ from their childhood. Family gatherings would always have a big steamy pot of it along with fresh bread loaded with butter. Just ask one of your Samoan friends if they remember koko rice and watch that dreamy look sweep across their face

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Kuka, Tastes of Beautiful Samoa Ep: 11

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Samoan Food from Le Umu Samoa on the Big Island

From Le Umu Samoa
Big Island's only choice for Samoan and Polynesian food, fresh produce and seafood from local farmers and fishermen. We can be your one-stop shop for everything Samoan. Enjoy baked goods like panipopo, puligi, half-moon pineapple pies, meat pies, custards and more. We are known for our homemade cured corned beef, palusami, Luau pipi (turkeytail laulau), Lu pulu (corned beef laulau), and Lu sipi (lamb laulau). We also sell fresh produce from local farmers and fresh seafood from local fishermen. Our boutique has hand-crafted jewelry, women's bags, lava lava (pareo), and artwork by local artists.

EATING PACIFIC ISLAND FOOD @ Lola's Island Shop / Polynesian Samoan Tongan Mukbang Food Vlog Review

Have you tried food from the Pacific Islands before? Come and try Tongan and Samoan dishes at this island takeaway shop in Sydney's South West!

We tried dishes like lamb buns (steamed and fried), sapa sui, lū, lamb curry, taro and banana, raw fish (ota ika), fried chicken, BBQ lamb ribs, crackling pork and somehow made room for desserts too! When the islanders tell you they can eat, believe them LOL. Big love to Aunty Lola and her family for taking us in for lunch time ????

LOCATION:
Lola's Island Shop
12 Khancoban St, Heckenberg NSW 2168

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Sydney Chinatown Food Tour |
Cabramatta Cheap Eats Tour part 1 |
Cabramatta Cheap Eats Tour part 2 |
Burwood Cheap Eats Tour |
Fairfield Cheap Eats Tour |
Marrickville Vietnamese Food Tour |
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The Traditional SAMOAN BUNS that you need to try! | Pinati's Keke Pua'a in Ōtāhuhu, Auckland

Samoan cuisine has quite a bit of Chinese influence through its cuisine and it has resulted in these tasty buns that you can get from Pinati's Keke Pua'a! They've got a bunch of flavours from steamed pork, and lamb, to fried coconut cream, and German buns.

Enjoy!
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Koko Samoa - Creating New Traditions

As part of her Cacao and Kofe retreats she runs on Ms Sunshine Farms for tourists and locals, Chocolate Creator Floris Niu is transforming the way Samoans think about Koko Samoa - imparting her knowledge and experience in growing and processing cacao to creating new cooking traditions with her brand of organic Koko Samoa.

Learn how to make Samoan Koko!

Performance Demonstration - The Samoan Women Organic Farmers demonstrate the art of making Koko Samoa (from the beans) through story telling and audience interaction at the Pacific Cacao and Chocolate Show held in Auckland Sat July 23rd 2022.

THE KOKO SAMOA DRINK - BLOCK OR PODS?

Are you looking for the comfort of the traditional Koko Samoa drink? You've come to the right place. We've lovingly created the koko you know and love, in fun new shapes. That's right, while we love the shape of the traditional cup, sometimes life's too busy to cut the big block down, scrape and grind.

So now you can enjoy Koko Samoa in fun little piggy, flower and pod shapes. One piggy, flower or pod makes one cup of traditional koko.

Gluten-free
Vegan
Organic
One bag makes 27 cups of Traditional Koko Samoa. Just add hot water and your choice of sweetener.

Our Koko comes from a plantation in Samoa, owned by a hard-working farmer named Maalo, and his family. Its fine flavour profile comes from a rich history, and lush green mountains surrounded by sea and sun.

Our purpose is to improve the quality of life for cacao growers in Samoa and their families, by connecting them to a global village. All proceeds go directly back to supporting the farmers and their families in Samoa.

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Koko Samoa

Koko Samoa with Robert Oliver

Robert tells us about Samoa's national drink, Koko Samoa

TikTok Koko Samoa

Koko Samoa and Almond Milk?

Koko Samoa

We're making Koko Samoa ( Samoan Cocoa) for the first time.
For more tips about the actuall recipe visit
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Koko Samoa Without The Hassle

SAMOAN CUISINE

Traditional Samoan oven food preparation (umu) in American Samoa at Tisa's Barefoot Bar.

Épicerie Cafe | A Taste of Koko

A Taste of Koko's very own Jane Ko samples the French inspired delights of Épicerie Cafe in Austin, Texas, where she learns how to make Louisiana-style beignets from the practiced hand of Chef Sarah McIntosh... and of course, devours them!

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Épicerie Cafe & Grocery -
Jane Ko appears courtesy of A Taste of Koko -
@atasteofkoko

Samoan kids trying Japanese kitkats

Bought some goodies from Singapore for the kids to try.

December 10, 2016

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