Cacao and Chocolate Glossary — English, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese | TGROUP International Tour Operator

Working across the cacao trade, most misunderstandings come not from weak language skills but from one misused technical term. Writing cocoa powder where you meant cocoa mass in a quotation names two entirely different products at entirely different prices. What follows is the vocabulary BALAVA uses when working between Vietnamese, English, Korean and Japanese.

The production chain — each stage has its own term

1. The plant and the raw material

English	Tiếng Việt	한국어	日本語
*Cacao tree (Theobroma cacao)*	Cây cacao	카카오나무	カカオの木
Pod	Quả cacao	카카오 포드 / 열매	カカオポッド
Cacao bean	Hạt cacao	카카오 빈 / 원두	カカオ豆
Pulp	Cơm quả (thịt quả)	펄프 / 과육	パルプ・果肉
Husk / shell	Vỏ hạt	카카오 껍질	カカオハスク
Criollo / Forastero / Trinitario	Giống Criollo / Forastero / Trinitario	크리오요 / 포라스테로 / 트리니타리오	クリオロ / フォラステロ / トリニタリオ
Fine or flavour cacao	Cacao hương vị tinh tế	파인 플레이버 카카오	ファインフレーバーカカオ
Bulk cacao	Cacao đại trà	벌크 카카오	バルクカカオ
Single origin	Một vùng trồng	싱글 오리진	シングルオリジン
Terroir	Thổ nhưỡng, điều kiện vùng trồng	테루아	テロワール

2. Post-harvest processing

English	Tiếng Việt	한국어	日本語
Fermentation	Lên men	발효	発酵
Drying	Phơi / sấy	건조	乾燥
Fermentation box	Thùng lên men	발효 상자	発酵ボックス
Cut test	Thử cắt hạt	컷 테스트	カットテスト
Slaty bean	Hạt xám (chưa lên men đủ)	슬레이티 빈	スレーティ豆
Mouldy bean	Hạt mốc	곰팡이 빈	カビ豆
Moisture content	Độ ẩm hạt	수분 함량	水分含量

A note on the cut test. Vietnamese has no settled equivalent; technical documents generally render it descriptively. In contracts, keep the English term to avoid ambiguity.

3. Manufacturing

English	Tiếng Việt	한국어	日本語
Roasting	Rang	로스팅	焙煎（ロースト）
Winnowing	Tách vỏ	위노잉 / 껍질 분리	ウィノーイング（風選）
Cacao nib	Nhân hạt cacao	카카오 닙스	カカオニブ
Cocoa mass / cocoa liquor	Khối cacao	카카오 매스	カカオマス
Cocoa butter	Bơ cacao	카카오 버터	ココアバター
Cocoa cake / press cake	Bánh cacao ép	카카오 케이크	ココアケーキ
Cocoa powder	Bột cacao	카카오 파우더	ココアパウダー
Alkalization / Dutch process	Kiềm hóa	알칼리 처리 / 더치 프로세스	アルカリ処理
Non-alkalized / natural	Không kiềm hóa	무알칼리 / 내추럴	非アルカリ処理
Grinding, refining	Nghiền, tinh luyện	분쇄 · 정련	微粒化（レファイニング）
Stone grinding	Nghiền đá	맷돌 분쇄	石臼挽き
Conching	Conching	콘칭	コンチング
Tempering	Temper (điều nhiệt kết tinh)	템퍼링	テンパリング
Moulding	Đổ khuôn	성형 / 몰딩	モールド（型入れ）
Enrobing	Phủ socola	엔로빙	エンローバー掛け

4. Products and market terms

English	Tiếng Việt	한국어	日本語
Bean to bar	Bean to bar	빈투바	ビーントゥバー
Farm to bar	Farm to bar	팜투바	ファームトゥバー
Couverture	Socola couverture	커버춰	クーベルチュール
Compound chocolate	Socola hỗn hợp (dùng chất béo thay thế)	컴파운드 초콜릿	コンパウンドチョコレート
Cocoa butter substitute / replacer (CBS / CBR)	Chất béo thay thế bơ cacao	카카오 버터 대체유지	代用油脂（CBS・CBR）
Ganache	Ganache	가나슈	ガナッシュ
Nama chocolate	Socola tươi (nama)	나마 초콜릿 / 생초콜릿	生チョコレート
Praline	Praline	프랄린	プラリネ
Truffle	Truffle	트러플	トリュフ
Cacao percentage	Hàm lượng cacao	카카오 함량	カカオ分
Bloom	Bloom (lớp trắng bề mặt)	블룸	ブルーム
Snap	Độ giòn khi bẻ	스냅	スナップ

5. Sensory vocabulary

English	Tiếng Việt	한국어	日本語
Astringency	Vị chát	떫은맛	渋み
Bitterness	Vị đắng	쓴맛	苦味
Acidity	Độ chua	산미	酸味
Fruity notes	Hương trái cây	과일 향	フルーティな香り
Nutty / roasted notes	Hương hạt / rang	견과 향 / 로스팅 향	ナッツ香・焙煎香
Mouthfeel	Cảm giác trong miệng	식감 / 입안 촉감	口当たり
Aftertaste / finish	Hậu vị	여운	後味

The six pairs most often confused

Cacao and cocoa. In the fine-chocolate trade, cacao tends to mean raw or minimally processed forms and cocoa the industrially processed ones. This is a market convention with no legal force in any jurisdiction.

카카오 and 코코아 in Korean. The most consequential pair when preparing documents for Korean buyers. Use 카카오 for raw material and pure cocoa powder; 코코아 in Korean usually signals a sweetened, ready-to-drink powder. Get this wrong and the buyer reads your product as an entirely different category.

カカオ and ココア in Japanese. The same logic: カカオ for the raw material, ココア for the beverage. Labelling pure cocoa powder for Japan as ココアパウダー follows industry practice, but describe the input material as カカオ.

Couverture and compound. Couverture is real chocolate with a high cocoa butter content, used for coating and moulding, and it must be tempered. Compound uses substitute fats, needs no tempering, and in many markets may not legally be called chocolate. They look similar and are not interchangeable.

Japan’s legal categories. The Japanese market distinguishes チョコレート from 準チョコレート under its fair competition code on labelling, based on cocoa solids and fat content. When preparing labels for Japan, verify the thresholds with your importer rather than inferring them from EU standards.

Nama chocolate. Vietnamese calls it “fresh chocolate”, which translated literally into English means nothing to anyone. The international term is nama chocolate; the Japanese is 生チョコレート. In Japan it is a defined category: at least 40% chocolate base by total weight, at least 10% cream, and water content — including the water in the cream — of at least 10%.

Nama chocolate — 生チョコレート

Practical notes for export documentation

In contracts and specification sheets, make the English term the primary entry and put translations in brackets, not the other way round. The reason is simple: English is the working language of shipping and customs paperwork, while the translation exists so internal readers can follow quickly.

For technical specifications, always give the unit and the method. “100–150 mesh” is clearer than “fine powder”. “22–25% cocoa butter” is clearer than “high fat”. Professional buyers in all three markets read the numbers first.

BALAVA cocoa powder — non-alkalized, 22–25% cocoa butter

Talk to BALAVA

Wholesale pricing, private label, samples and export documentation — we answer in English.

Email: mint@tgroup.vn
Zalo: zalo.me/640678654565315593
Phone: +84 979 600 379

Sources. Terms are compiled from cacao and chocolate technical literature in four languages. Most are standardised; several Vietnamese entries have no settled equivalent and are given as they most commonly appear in professional documents. The definition of 生チョコレート (chocolate base at least 40%, cream at least 10%, water content at least 10%) follows the Japanese fair competition code on chocolate labelling. The チョコレート / 準チョコレート distinction comes from the same code; specific thresholds should be confirmed with a Japanese importer before printing labels. The cacao/cocoa, 카카오/코코아 and カカオ/ココア conventions are market practice, not regulation.