The plant is grown for its fruits known as cocoa pods. When ripe, these pods are cut down and opened and the beans are removed. The pods contain seeds, which are fermented with mucilage surrounding them and then dried to give fermented dried cocoa, the raw material used in food industry.
Cocoa is now widely grown in the tropics, usually at altitudes less than 300 m above sea-level, where it needs a fairly high rainfall and good soil.
Rainfall must be plentiful and well distributed, with average monthly rainfalls in excess of 1500 mm.
Cocoa tress can take up to four years from planting before producing enough fruit to merit harvesting. They may live for 80 years or more, although the fully-productive period is usually about 20 years.
Cocoa trees do not reach full production capacity until they are roughly 10 years of age.
The cocoa beans are the major ingredients for the cocoa industry, for the manufacturing the chocolate and derivatives, cosmetics and medicines.
Cocoa processing takes place mainly in importing countries. The processes include shelling, roasting and grinding the beans. Almost half of each bean after shelling consists of a fat called cocoa butter.
In the manufacture of cocoa powder for use as a beverage this fat is largely removed.
Cocoa tree
