Callebaut 100% Cocoa Mass: Pure Chocolate for Professionals
Callebaut Cocoa Mass is 100% pure cocoa: unsweetened cocoa liquor made from roasted, ground cocoa beans, with no added sugar. Supplied in convenient Callets in a 2.5 kg resealable bag, it delivers 54 g of fat and just 0.3 g of sugar per 100 g. It is the pastry chef's tool to raise the cocoa percentage of a couverture and to intensify the flavour and colour of chocolate, ganaches, gelato and pralines.
What Cocoa Mass Is
Cocoa mass (also called cocoa liquor or cocoa paste) is the foundation of every chocolate. Cocoa beans are fermented, roasted and ground until the friction releases the cocoa butter and turns the solids into a smooth, fluid paste at temperature. Unlike couverture, cocoa mass contains no added sugar and no extra cocoa butter beyond what is naturally in the bean: it is chocolate stripped back to its purest expression, with all the bitterness, depth and aromatic complexity of the cocoa.
Bean Origin and the Callebaut House
Callebaut blends cocoa beans from three growing origins, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Ecuador, to build a balanced, rounded and deep chocolate taste. Callebaut has been making chocolate in Belgium since 1911 and is one of the reference standards of the professional pastry and confectionery world. The brand sources through the Cocoa Horizons Foundation, which reinvests in sustainable cocoa farming.
Sensory Profile
Intense, frankly bitter, with no sweetness to soften it. The aroma is deep and roasted, with the typical notes of a high-cocoa chocolate. Because it is unsweetened, cocoa mass amplifies the cocoa character of any recipe it enters, deepening both flavour and colour.
Professional Uses in the Kitchen
Boost the cocoa percentage of a couverture: add 5-15% cocoa mass by weight to a 70% couverture to push it toward a darker, more intense bar without making it sweeter. Build dark ganaches: combine cocoa mass with couverture and cream for a deeper, less sweet filling for pralines and tarts. Intensify gelato and ice cream: add melted cocoa mass to a dark chocolate gelato base for a cleaner, more bitter cocoa hit. Pralineric and signature recipes: use cocoa mass to design your own chocolate blends and to fine-tune sweetness and intensity. Hot desserts and sauces: melt into warm sauces, fondants and mousses where an unsweetened, high-cocoa note is needed.
How to Temper and Dose
The Callets format melts quickly and evenly and is easy to weigh, which makes it ideal for tempering and continuous production. Melt gently to 45-50 C, never above, to protect the aromatics. As a flavour booster, start at 5% of the total chocolate mass and adjust upward to 15% to reach the desired intensity and colour. Because cocoa mass has no added cocoa butter, expect a thicker, less fluid melt than a couverture.
Pairings and Complementary Products
Cocoa mass works hand in hand with dark, milk and white couvertures, with hazelnut and pistachio pastes for gianduja and pralines, with mascarpone and cream for chocolate desserts, and with icing sugar and stabilisers for professional pastry. In gelato it pairs with milk, cream and sugar bases.
Technical Specifications
Format Callets, 2.5 kg resealable bag, carton of 4 bags = 10 kg. Ingredients: 100% cocoa mass. Allergens: may contain milk and nuts (hazelnuts, almonds). Energy 598 kcal per 100 g. Storage 12-20 C, relative humidity below 70%, in a clean, dry, odourless place. Shelf life 24 months from production. Certified Halal, Kosher, vegan and gluten-free.
Delivery and Logistics
B2B and B2C delivery throughout Switzerland from the LAPA warehouse in Embrach (Zurich). Direct distribution across Zurich, Winterthur, Uster, Aargau, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Zug and Basel. For Ticino (Lugano, Bellinzona, Locarno), French-speaking Switzerland (Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg), Valais (Sion, Martigny) and the Grisons (Chur, Davos) shipping within 24-48 hours via partner couriers (Swiss Post, Planzer, Galliker). As a stable ambient product, cocoa mass ships standard and is ideal for stocking professional kitchens.
Who It Is For
Designed for pastry labs, gelato makers, chocolatiers, restaurants, hotels, bakeries and Italian delicatessens, as well as expert home cooks who want true professional cocoa intensity. Over 1,500 chefs and pastry chefs in Switzerland source from LAPA.
