The cocoa nibs, mainly the seeds, are ground into cocoa mass, also known as cocoa crumbs or cocoa liquor.

Cocoa mass produces cocoa butter containing about 55% fat and cocoa powder containing about 25% fat. Cocoa liquor is a key semi-finished product in the chocolate production process. The high quality of chocolate can be recognized by the cocoa liquor and cocoa butter content - this is known as the "cocoa content".