The Flavor Diversity of Cocoa: Key Influences on Taste

Cocoa’s flavor diversity stems from a combination of biological, environmental, and post-harvest factors that shape the final product. Each element contributes to the complexity that chocolate lovers appreciate around the world.

1. Bean Variety
The genetic origin of the cacao bean is a primary determinant of flavor. Criollo beans, the rarest and most prized, are known for their delicate, fruity, and floral notes but are less disease-resistant and yield less than other types. Forastero beans, which account for about 80% of global production, offer a stronger, more bitter flavor and are favored for their resilience and productivity. Trinitario, a hybrid of the two, strikes a balance with moderate acidity, fruitiness, and robustness, and is widely used in premium chocolates.

2. Growing Conditions
Terroir—the environmental conditions where cacao is grown—profoundly influences flavor. Soil minerals, rainfall patterns, sunlight, and altitude all affect the plant's biochemical composition. For example, cocoa from Madagascar often has bright, citrusy notes, while beans from Ecuador tend to have earthy, floral flavors. As climate change shifts weather patterns, cocoa farmers are increasingly experimenting with shade management and soil enrichment to maintain quality.

3. Fermentation and Drying
Post-harvest fermentation initiates critical chemical transformations. Yeasts and bacteria convert sugars into acids, releasing flavor precursors. Fermentation typically lasts five to seven days and must be carefully monitored. Improper fermentation can lead to off-flavors. Drying, usually sun-based, reduces moisture content to preserve the beans and finalize flavor development.

4. Roasting and Processing
Roasting temperature and time can highlight different flavor notes. A light roast may preserve fruity or floral undertones, while a dark roast emphasizes bitter or smoky qualities. After roasting, grinding, conching, and refining further influence texture and flavor integration, making these steps essential in crafting high-quality chocolate.

5. Post-Harvest Handling
Storage and transportation conditions also impact flavor. Beans must be kept dry and protected from odors and pests. Increasingly, traceability practices and improved logistics help preserve bean quality from origin to manufacturer.

Together, these factors form a complex interplay that results in cocoa’s remarkable flavor diversity—one of the key reasons why no two chocolate bars taste exactly alike.

Unveiling the Potential of Cocoa: A Solution to Diabetes and Hypertension?

The intricate interplay between hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease has been a subject of extensive research across various domains. From basic biochemical understanding to clinical observations and epidemiological studies, the connections among these pathologies are increasingly recognized.

In combating these ailments, therapeutic strategies encompass a spectrum ranging from pharmaceutical interventions to lifestyle modifications and dietary adjustments. The latter, in particular, has garnered significant attention as a cornerstone of public health initiatives aimed at mitigating the risks associated with cardiovascular diseases.

While fruits and vegetables have long been advocated for their cardiovascular benefits, the precise mechanisms underlying their protective effects remain elusive. Nevertheless, emerging evidence suggests that flavonoids, abundant in these dietary staples, might hold the key to unraveling this mystery.

Among the plethora of flavonoids, flavanols, found abundantly in cocoa, tea, grapes, and grapefruit, have emerged as focal points of investigation. These compounds exhibit promising potential in safeguarding cardiovascular health, prompting a surge in translational research endeavors aimed at elucidating their mechanisms of action.

Cocoa, in particular, has emerged as a tantalizing candidate in the quest for combating diabetes and hypertension. Rich in flavanols, cocoa presents a unique opportunity to explore the nexus between diet and disease prevention. Studies investigating the consumption of cocoa and its derivatives have revealed intriguing associations with improved vascular function and blood pressure regulation.

Furthermore, the antioxidant properties of cocoa flavanols have been implicated in mitigating oxidative stress, a key contributor to cardiovascular pathologies. By scavenging free radicals and modulating inflammatory pathways, cocoa-derived flavanols exhibit multifaceted mechanisms that hold promise in combating the complex interplay of diabetes and hypertension.

In conclusion, while the biochemical and physiological associations among hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease continue to unfold, the identification of dietary interventions, particularly cocoa rich in flavanols, offers a beacon of hope in the quest for mitigating these pervasive health challenges. Translational research endeavors aimed at elucidating the mechanistic underpinnings of cocoa's cardiovascular benefits underscore the potential of harnessing nature's bounty to safeguard human health.
Unveiling the Potential of Cocoa: A Solution to Diabetes and Hypertension?

History of Spain and cocoa

According to the official account of Columbus’ trip to Guanaja (today one of the islands of Honduras) in 1502, the Spaniards encountered a canoe with some ‘strange people’ carrying ‘some kind of almonds’ that seemed very valuable to them. Later he received the gift of a cup of chocolate.

When Cortes arrived seventeen years later the cacao beans were being used as food and a form of currency. It was reported that a slave could be bought for one hundred cacao beans. At the time, two hundred small cacao beans were worth one Spanish real.

Columbus at first, then Cortes, discovered in the Americas the cocoa plant, but only Cortes brought the seeds to Europe. Upon his return to Spain in 1528, Cortez presented cocoa beans and the recipe for chocolatl to King Charles V, while adding sugar (an unknown substance to the Mayans and Aztecs) to the bitter beverage.

From this moment onwards, due to frequent trade with the American colonies of the Spanish, chocolate began to be introduced in the old continent as a beverage.

The Spanish helped develop cacao plantations in Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Jamaica and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic).

As a beverage, the Spaniards disliked the bitter brew. At first they followed the recipe of the Aztecs, with further addition of chili and hot spices. Then, with the addition of sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, the cocoa taste became sweet and soft. The Spaniards also started to drink the brew hot.

To obtain the foam on top of the beverage, they no longer poured the brew from one vessel to another, but beat the hot drink with a so-called molinillo, a large, wooden swizzle-stick.

The Spanish could not hold onto their secret forever, and chocolate quickly spread across the rest of western Europe. Chocolate—then still exclusively in the form of a drink—appeared in France, and then England, in royal courts and special “chocolate houses” that served the social elite.

Nearly 100 years after Columbus' first voyage to the Americas, cocoa was finally shipped in bulk to Spain to be sold on the open market. This would lead to an explosion of trading and innovation inspired by the unique cocoa bean.

Cacao production has since spread all over the world but the cacao from these original regions still produces the most highly prized variety of cacao bean. The first ever chocolate processing plant was set up in Spain in 1580. From then on, the popularity of chocolate gradually spread to the other European countries.
History of Spain and cocoa

Cocoa polyphenols

Cocoa and cocoa products, namely cocoa liquor, cocoa powder and chocolates (milk and dark chocolates) may present varied polyphenol contents and possess different levels of antioxidant potentials.

Fresh cocoa beans contain about 32–39% water, 30–32% fat, 10–15% protein, 5–6% polyphenols, 4–6% pentosans, 2–3% cellulose, 2–3% sucrose, 1–2% theobromine, 1% acids and less than 1% caffeine. It is also a rich source of mineral components.

The polyphenols in cocoa beans could contribute to about 12-18% of the dry weight of the whole bean.

The content and composition of polyphenols differs depending on the genotype, origin, growth conditions, degree of ripeness of the cocoa fruit and the grain processing parameters.

Studies indicated that dark chocolate exhibited the highest polyphenol content, with 610 mg total catechins/kg of fresh edible weight. With advancements in technology, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) had been utilized in the determination of polyphenol compounds in cocoa.

Main classes of polyphenolic compounds identified are such as simple phenols, benzoquinones, phenolic acids, acetophenones, phenylacetic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, phenylpropenes, coumarines, chromones, naphtoquinones, xanthones, stilbenes, anthraquinones, flavonoids, lignans and lignins. Three main groups of cocoa polyphenols can be distinguished namely the catechins (37%), anthocyanins (4%) and proanthocyanidins (58%).

The brown and purple color of the cocoa bean was attributed to the complex alteration products of catechin and tannin. Beside these compounds, cocoa was found to have leucoanthocyanins that are present as glycosides.

Phenolic antioxidants have been shown to inhibit the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and mounting evidence suggests that it is the oxidized form of LDL that leads to the buildup of fatty plaques in arteries.

Some other the beneficial effects of polyphenols are such as anti-carcinogenic, anti-atherogenic, anti-ulcer, anti-thrombotic, anti-inflammatory, immune modulating, anti-microbial, vasodilatory and analgesic effect.

Epicatechin and other flavonoids not only have a direct antioxidant effect, but they may also have a sparing effect on other antioxidants such as Vitamin C and E.
Cocoa polyphenols

What are the definitions of cocoa?

Cocoa is a corruption of the botanical garden name of the plant cacao. It is applied to the roasted and crushed fruit of the Theobroma from which about one-half of its oil has been expressed.
The term cocoa nibs is applied to the roasted while seeds of the Theobroma.

Chocolate is the name of roasted and crushed nibs before any of the oil has been extracted. The term chocolate is also applied to the beverage made from the crushed nibs.

Unless the above facts are clearly comprehend much confusion of ideas will ensue. It s unfortunate that the term, coco was not applied to chocolate and vise versa.

The matter is further complicated by applying the term chocolate to a highly sweetened confection containing chocolate as a base.

The sugar amounts to as much as 60 to 70 percent of the whole mass. The plain chocolate which has not been manipulated at all is often called “bitter chocolate” in distinction from confection which is celled “sweet chocolate.”
What are the definitions of cocoa?

Minerals in chocolate

Cocoa and chocolate contain a number of minerals. Cocoa has the potential to provide significant amount of minerals in the human diet, in particular copper, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium and zinc.

Potassium, magnesium and calcium are the most abundant minerals in cocoa powder. The mineral content of the cocoa is dependent on the soil condition in which the cacao is grown.

Cocoa and cocoa products contain relatively higher amounts of magnesium compared to black tea, red wine, and apples. Magnesium is involved in catalyzing multitude biological reactions, including protein synthesis, transmission of nerve impulse, muscle relaxation, energy production and bone and teeth adsorption.

The final concentrations of minerals in chocolate products are dependent on the amount of non-fat cocoa solids, the amount of cocoa butter and the presence of other ingredients including milk and nuts which can enhance the levels of certain minerals.

A 100 g bar of plain chocolate is able to supply 24% of the copper needed in a healthy diet, whilst milk and white chocolate are a relatively good source of calcium, which is widely regarded as being beneficial in maintaining strong bones.

Dark chocolate typically has higher amounts of minerals than milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is plentiful in magnesium, important for brain functioning. It also boast other nutrients, such as copper, iron, manganese and zinc.
Minerals in chocolate

Procyanidins in cocoa and chocolate

Chocolates and cocoas contain substantial amounts of procyanidins, and thus belong in the category of flavonoid-rich foods.

Recent advancements in the identification and isolation of procyanidins, especially oligomeric procyanidins, from chocolate and cocoa have facilitated the investigation of individual procyanidin fractions with regard to their potential cardiovascular health benefits. Procyanidin suppress multiple activities that lead to cardiovascular disease by inhibiting the development of blood platelets or clotting factors and thus helping reduce heart disease.

Dimeric A type Procyanidin

This phytochemical also responsible fro blood vessel dilation, thus promoting blood flow and reducing their risk of heart disease.

Procyanidins present in large amounts in some dark chocolate brand cocoa powder made with beans that have not been overly fermented, alkalized or roasted at high temperature, demonstrated an anti-inflammatory effect on artery blood flow.

Procyanidins in cocoa include the B1, and B2 types as well as B5 dimers and C1 trimer, together with high levels of longer-chain polymers with four or more monomeric units.
Procyanidins in cocoa and chocolate

A note on terminology

Coco is the name of a tree, Cocos nucifera.
Coca is the name of a shrub, Erythoxylon Coca.
Cacao is the name of a tree, Theobroma Cacao.

Within many Maya dialects spoken throughout Mexico and Central America, the term cacao is often interchangeable with the word chocolate as known today.

Cocoa is the powder made from the cacao bean, which is mashed into a paste then pounded to extract the cocoa butter and pulverized into a dry powder. It is believed the name ‘cocoa’ came about as the result of a misspelling by early English traders.

Cocoa is also modern version of beverage prepared from the above with milk and sugar. It is a beverage prepared from the crushed unexpressed fruit of the theobroma.

Chocolate is referred to the term applied to a confection made from the above with sugar.  It is a product of the fruit of the cacao tree. The fruits grow off the main trunk of the tree as pods, similar in size to deflated football. The trees can grow anywhere from 25 to 50 feet tall.

Couverture is a covering chocolate, specially formulated for coating or dipping. It has a higher percentage of cocoa butter than any other sweetened chocolate enabling it to flow easily and form thin, crisp coatings with a mellow flavor.

Chocolate liquor is the liquid or paste produced when cacao beans are roasted and gerund. It is the pure, roasted and refined cacao bean with no ingredients added.

Ganache is chocolate and cream blended together usually used as a filing for chocolate truffles or as filling or glaze for other confections.
A note on terminology 

Cocoa drink improved blood vessel function in smokers

Cocoa Drinks
Phytochemicals known as flavanols, which are found in chocolate, fruits and vegetables, can boost the levels of nitric oxide in the blood of smokers and reverse some of their smoking-related impairment in blood vessel function.

While the long-term benefits of such improvements remain to be established, scientists believe that one exciting outcome of this study is the demonstration that flavanol-rich cocoa can significantly improve an important marker of cardiovascular health in a population with an established cardiovascular risk factor. This raises the possibility that a potential new agent for the prevention and/or treatment of cardiovascular disease may emerge from additional research.

The researchers studied smokers because their blood vessels tend to respond poorly to changes in blood flow, possibly related to impairments in how nitric oxide sends signals to the inner lining, the endothelium, of blood vessels. This impaired endothelial function is a marker for increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

There were significant increases in circulating nitric oxide and flow-mediated dilation after ingestion of drinks containing 176 to 185 milligrams of flavanols, a dose potentially exerting maximal effects. These changes correlated with increases in flavanol metabolites. The main point of the study was to identify the active ingredients so that they can be studied further.

The researchers pointed out that the cocoa drink was specially processed to retain much higher levels of flavanols than are typically found in commercially-available cocoa drinks; so it is unlikely that drinking more hot chocolate would produce a similar effect.

A flavanol- rich drink is capable of increasing nitric oxide levels in the blood and reversing the detrimental effect of smoking on vascular adaptation. It remains to be seen whether the acute beneficial effect of a flavanol-rich drink translates into a long-term benefit, in terms of attenuating or preventing the development of atherosclerosis.
Cocoa Drinks

Theobromine in cocoa

The cocoa bean is the major natural source of the methylxanthine theobromine (3,7-dimethylxanthine), but contains only small amounts of caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine).

As theobromine is present in high amounts in cocoa powder and dark chocolate, it is used as a marker for the absorption of cocoa powder and dark chocolate.

Together, theobromine and caffeine account for up to 99% of the alkaloid content of T. cacao beans. The higher content is due to their present in the non-lipid portion of the cocoa mass.

Theobromine

Extraction of theobromine and caffeine from cocoa seeds and shells can be done using supercritical carbon dioxide.

In 1841 Woskresensky was the first to discover the alkaloid theobromine in cocoa beans. Theobromine is a white crystalline powder, odorless, easily decomposed, with an extremely bitter taste remotely resembling that of cocoa.

Flavanol-rich cocoa products have been reported to lower blood pressure. It has been suggested that theobromine is partially responsible for this effect. This is due to its ability to dilate blood vessels.
Theobromine in cocoa

Processing of Cocoa Powder

There are two types of cocoa powder, natural and Dutch processed.

Natural cocoa powder tends to be acidic and in many cases, harsh because inferior quality cocoa beans are often used to produce it.

Dutch-processed cocoa powder has been treated to reduce its alkali.

Adding alkali to natural cocoa powder mellows its flavor and darkens its color.

The process adding alkali to cocoa powder was discovered in the early nineteenth century by Coenraad Van Houten, who was Dutch: that’s the reason this type of coca is known as Dutch processed cocoa powder.

Van Houten patented a press that removed most of the bitter fat which accounts for more than half the weight, from the ground, roasted beans.

Through the use of Van Houten’s invention, two distinct products were produced: a hard cacao cake and cacao butter.
Processing of Cocoa Powder

Mineral in cocoa

Cocoa and its products contain substantial amounts of essential dietary minerals. Minerals composition can vary between different cocoa varieties and within the same variety because of different variable.

Cocoa contains several minerals such as potassium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, copper, iron and calcium which have important roles in the metabolism of the human body.

The most nutrient dense sources of copper are cocoa and dark chocolate. Copper is an important mineral in human nutrition.

Copper is necessary for bone metabolism, brain and nerve cell development, heart rhythm, immune responsiveness, nerve transmission and function and the synthesis of hemoglobin. One cup of unsweetened cocoa powder contain copper 163% of daily recommended values.

While iron is importance for hemoglobin and the formation of healthy blood cells, iron is an essential element in numerous other biological functions. Iron in cocoa unsweetened is about 66% of daily recommended values.
Mineral in cocoa

Curing and Fermentation of Cocoa

Curing and Fermentation of Cocoa
Harvested pos are usually collected in one or more convenient places in the field where the cutting of pods to obtain cocoa beans takes place. Sometimes mature fruits are collected in gunny sacks and are ripened for 2 days.

After ripening, the fruits are cut into two section in order to collect the beans (seeds).

Pods can also be opened by the using bamboo sacks to hit the pods until they split into two pieces. The beans are then collected and pile on plastic sheets or places in wooden baskets. The skin of the pods may be buried in the soil or used as animal feed.

The practice of providing an interval of 3 to 4 days between harvesting and opening is recommended for the benefit of fermentation.

The fermentation process is mainly aimed at killing the beams so that changes within the beans can take place, such as changes in color, improvement in aroma and flavor, as well as enhancement of the ‘beans’ keeping quality.

During the fermentation process the temperature of cocoa beans increases to about 40 degree Celsius as a result of the exothermic chemical reactions in the pulp that result from the activity of a succession of microorganism.

The pH of the cotyledons drops from 6 to about 5. At 36 to 72 hours after fermentation starts, the beans are “killed” and thereafter many chemical reactions take place inside the beans.

Good fermentation is achieved if the pH of the cotyledons has reached 4.8, the amount of pulp is reduced to 0.16%, and when the ebonies develop a good aroma.

After fermentation process is completed, the pulp can be cleaned by soaking the beans in running water for about 2 to 3 hours.
Curing and Fermentation of Cocoa

Cocoa Beverage Arrived Europe

Cocoa Beverage Arrived Europe
All chocolate was prepared in liquid form as beverages until the mid 1830s when it became technically possible to remove coca fat and collect solids.

The original introduction of chocolate to Europe during the 16th century therefore, was only in beverage form.

Chocolate appeared for the first time in Europe in 1544 when introduced to the Spanish court by Mayan nobles who greeted Prince Philip.

The Mayan word cacao entered scientific nomenclature in 1753 when Linnaeus published his taxonomic system and coined the genus and species, Theobroma cacao, terms translated as “food of the gods”.

The Florentine Codex provides recipes on how to prepare cocoa and reports: “When ordinary quantities are drunk, (cacao) gladdens, refreshes, consoles and invigorates”.

During the past 450 years chocolate beverage have been used to treat four consistent medical related conditions,:
1-To restore flesh to emaciated patients especially those suffering from tuberculosis
2-To stimulate the nervous systems of patients identified as feeble, exhausted or apathetic
3-To calm patients identified as overestimated
4-To improve digestion and elimination

Cocoa Beverage Arrived Europe

Cocoa in general

Cocoa in general
Cocoa was known as chcoclatl the royal beverage of the King Montezuma during the Mayan period. It also has a medicinal effect and was so famous and high prices that it was once used as money and for tax payment in Mexico.

Dried coca beans are usually processed into coca butter, which contains fat between 56% and 58% made up of a mixture of triglycerides.

A typical cocoa butter from West Africa is composed of the following fatty acids; palmitic, 25.3%; stearic, 36.6% oleic, 33.3%; linoleic 2.8% and other fatty acids 2.9%.

Cocoa butter with this composition is good for making chocolate and has favorable hardness and a melting point of body temperature.

Most chocolate manufacturers require that cocoa beans can be processed into good chocolate with good flavor.

Such quality depends very much on the variety of tree and the method of postharvest handling, such as fermentation and drying.

Theobroma cacao originated from jungle of the Amazon in Brazil or the area between 18 degree north and 15 degree south.

Theobroma cacao consists of two sub species: the Cacao, subspecies known as the Criollo, which can be found in Central ad South America and spharocarpum, which is also called the Forastero.

The world producers of cocoa are on the African continent, in Latin America and in Asia.
Cocoa in general

Fermentation: Chemical Changes in Pulp

Fermentation: Chemical Changes in Pulp
In the process of fermentation the heaps or boxes, the pulp adhering to the beans provides a medium at the correct temperature and pH, not only to liquefy the pulp, but to create the reactions within the cotyledon so vital to the production of good chocolate flavors.

The pulp is composed of approximately 85% of water and 11 percent sugars with small amounts of citric acid, pentosans and proteins.

During the first two days of fermentation, the sugars are broken down to about 2 percent, forming small amounts of ethyl alcohol and lactic acid and the temperature rises to about 45 degree C.

For the remaining period of fermentation, the temperature is maintained between 45 and 50 degree C and the quantity of beans must be sufficient to avoid heat loss. The pH rises from 3.5 initially to 4.5 then to 5.0, and the presence of oxygen during turning results in the formation of acetic acid.

The cotyledons absorb some of the acetic acid, and they also attain a pH of about 5.0.

If fermentation is extended beyond five or six days, spoilage organisms take over, with a detrimental effect on the final flavor of the beans, residual acidity due to acetic acid is a problem with beans from some sources, such as Malaysia and New Guinea.
Fermentation: Chemical Changes in Pulp

The origin of Chocolate*

The origin of Chocolate
Although chocolate may represent less than half of the weight of many confectionary products, it is nevertheless the key component that gives such products their special appeal.

Chocolate is unique in that – unlike most other foods, where there is always a degree of taste polarization – it is vary rare indeed to find anyone who claims to dislike it.

Cocoa was first discovered by Europeans in South America. The Aztecs traditionally itself the seeds of the Theobroma cacao to make a drink by extracting the seeds from the cocoa pod and fermenting, drying and grinding them; the powder was then mixed with water.

It was cocoa as a drink that was imported by the Spaniards into Europe in the seventeenth century.

Later, Van Houten developed a process for pressing a proportion of the fat from the dried powder in order to make it more palatable: at about 50% fat, the drink made from untreated cocoa must have been very heavy. Modern drinking cocoas, by contrast, contain only 20% or less of fat.

At first, the expressed cocoa butter must have been a troublesome by product with relatively low value. But by mixing the cocoa butter back with unpressed cocoa and sugar, it was possible to make an entirely new product, namely solid chocolate for eating.

Now it is the partially defatted cocoa for drinking and cooking that is the cheaper by product.

The very broad appeal of chocolate as a food is difficult to explain. Part of its attraction is related to the particular melting characteristics of cocoa butter with its very sharp melting point at just below body temperatures; this give a very clean residual impression on the palate at the end of mastication.

But added to this is the characteristics flavor of cocoa which, as well as being attractive in its own right, seems to further eliminate any sensation of fatty after taste.
The origin of Chocolate

Fermentation and Drying Process

Fermentation and Drying Process
The correct fermentation and drying process of cacao are of vital importance as no subsequent processing of the bean will correct bad practice at this stage.

A good flavor in the final cocoa or chocolate is related closely to good fermentation, but if the drying after fermentation is retarded, molds develop and these also impart very unpleasant flavors even if fermentation has been carried out correctly.

The chemical processes involved are not entirely fermenting reactions and the changes that occur in the combined processes of fermentation and drying are sometimes referred to as curing.

After the pods are cut form the trees, the beans with the adhering pulp are removed and transferred to heaps boxes or baskets for fermentation to take place.

Small farmers tend to use the heap method whereas the box method is employed in larger plantations, and is also used on a smaller scale in South America and the West Indies. In Nigeria a basket method has been used, with the baskets lined with leaves.

Fermentation lasts from five to six days. Forastero beans take rather longer than Criollo and during the first day, the adhering pulp becomes liquid and drains away, with the temperature rising steadily.

By the third day, the mass of beans will have fairly evenly heated to 45 degree C and will remain between this temperature and about 50 degree C until fermentation is complete.
Fermentation and Drying Process

Theobroma – Food of God

Theobroma – Food of God
The cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) is a native of the dense tropical forests of the Amazon where it grows in conditions of semi-shade, warmth, and high humidity.

The genus Theobroma consists of over twenty species (family Sterculiaceae), but only T. cacao is of commercial value. T. cacao is assumed to have spread naturally westward and northward to Guyana and Mexico, and later to the Caribbean islands. In so doing, two distinct subspecies developed.

The Mayas of the Yucatan and the Aztecs of Mexico cultivated cocoa long before its introduction to Europe, and Montezuma, emperor of the Aztecs, is stated to have regularly consumed a preparation called “chocolatl” made by roasting and grinding the cocoa nibs, which were then mashed and mixed with water maize, and spice. The richness of this mixture no doubt had some connection with the Aztec belief that the cocoa tree was a divine origin and later led the Swedish botanist Linnaeus to give the name “Theobroma” – Food of the Gods – to the genus, including the cacao species.
Theobroma – Food of God

The Cocoa Plant

The Cocoa Plant
Botanically, the ‘cacao’ refers to the tree and its fruit (pods and seeds). Cocoa describes the bulk commercial dried fermented beans, as well as the powder produced from the beans.

The tree can only be cultivated within fairly narrow limits of altitude, latitude and humidity. The cultivation of 75% of the world’s cocoa lies within eight degrees of either side of the equator, with exceptions in some areas to about 18 degrees north or south. The optimum growing temperature may fall to lower levels, but then lower yields and damage to the trees are likely.

Rainfall is preferably between 1,500 and 2,000mm per year. Thus a hot, moist climate favors growth. Relative humidity under these conditions will be 70 to 80 percent during the day, increasing to the saturation point at night. Trees grow mostly in the lower altitudes and it is exceptional for them to flourish above 3,000 ft.

The cacao tree will grow to a height of 20 to 30 ft and requires some shade from larger forest trees. From the time the seedling reaches a height of 3 to 5 ft it throws out three to five fan branches, and later vertical “chupons” from points below “jorquettes” where branches fork. This pattern of growth is repeated until the height of maturity is reached.

The flowers are about half an inch in diameter and are formed in small groups on the trunks and flower main branches of the trees. They are bisexual, have no nectar or perfume, and the pollen is too sticky to be dispersed by the wind. It is found that the main agent of pollination is a small midge.

Many flowers are produced but only a small number become pollinated and develop into pods. These pods mature in five to six months during which many wilt and drop off, and this constitutes a further thinning process.

The pod is botanically, a “drupe” and stains a length of 6 to 10 in, by 3 to 4 in. diameter. It normally contains twenty to forty seeds surrounded by a mucilaginous pulp when the pod is ripe. It is an unusual fact that the ripe pods do not open and scatter the seed, not do the pod drop off and rot, and the seeds have no dormancy when removed from the pod. In uncultivated areas the seed is spread by small mammals such as monkeys and squirrels, which open the pods, such off the sweet pulp, and spit out the seeds.
The Cocoa Plant