What is cacao?
Chocolate Questions - questions About Chocolate - Yachana Ju...Cacao is the fruit from which chocolate is made. Cacao grows on cacao trees found mostly in the tropical regions of Africa and Latin America. The fruit, often referred to as the cacao pod, is about the size of a pineapple and contains dozens of large beans. It is these beans that are used in the production of chocolate products. For more information on Cacao, please refer to the About Chocolate section of this web site.
Related QuestionsChocolate FAQCacao, Theobroma cacao, is a tropical evergreen tree in the family Byttneriaceae. It is native to Central and South America and is cultivated extensively for its seed, which is the source of COCOA, CHOCOLATE, and cocoa butter. Cacao is a wide-branched evergreen that grows up to 7.5 m (25 ft) tall and bears seedpods up to 30 cm (1 ft) long and 10 cm (4 in) thick, with a hard leathery shell. Pods contain as many as 40 seeds, or beans, some up to 2.5 cm (1 in) wide.Related Questions
Alive Foods - raw food lifestyle, retreats, workshops, semin...This is raw "chocolate". Raw, organic, wild, whole shelled beans, cacao butter and cacao powder now available here. The seed of a fruit of an Amazonian tree that was brought to central America during or before the time of the Olmecs. Cacao beans were so revered by the Mayans and Aztecs that they used them as money! In 1753 Carl con Linnaeus, a Swedish scientist thought that cacao was so important that he named the genus and of this tree himself.Related Questions
Where do you buy your cacao?
Chocolate Questions - questions About Chocolate - Yachana Ju...Yachana Gourmet buys all of its cacao beans from small family farmers living in the Ecuadorian Amazon. For more information on how Yachana Gourmet is working with small family farmers in the Ecuadorian Amazon, please refer to the Helping Farmers section of this web site.
Related QuestionsWhat varietal of Cacao are there?
Chocolate FAQThe International Germplasm Database of Cacao drawn up in 1997 includes about 12,500 cacao clones. Its exactness will be tested only when a cost-effective method for the detection of cacao molecular DNA is designed and used as a bar-code for clone identification. Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario are the three leading types of Theobroma cacao. Their difference results from their pod structure, the colour of their beans and the number of beans per pod.
Related QuestionsHow is Cacao harvested?
Untitled DocumentThe cacao tree makes fruit following a constant cycle and generally it provides two harvesting periods: before and after the rainy seasons. It takes about 6 months from pollination for a tree to produce ripe fruit. The world average harvesting is lower than 3 million tons per year. About 80% of worldwide cacao is grown in 1 to 2-hectare plantations. The yield per hectare changes a lot.
Related QuestionsWhat to do with Cacao Beans?
Alive Foods - raw food lifestyle, retreats, workshops, semin...Peel them with your fingernails or a knife. Soaking them in cold water for 30 mintues makes peeling easier then: Freeze a blend of cacao beans and a sweetner of your choice (agave, maple syrup, raw honey etc.). Eat cold Raw, organic, wild, whole shelled beans, cacao butter and cacao powder now available here. Buy Trial Packs of all cacao products and get FREE vanilla massive beans here. Chocolate begins with a bean ... a cacao bean. It has been mashed and eaten for centuries.
Related QuestionsWhat is the difference between cacao and cocoa?
Frequently Asked Questions for Belgian Gourmet Chocolates & ...Theobroma cacao , more commonly know as cacao, refers to the tree that produces cocoa beans. Cocoa is a general term used to refer to the product made from cocoa beans and to the chocolate drinks and flavorings made from cocoa powder.
Related QuestionsWhat is the difference between cocoa and cacao?
Terra Nostra - Best Tasting Organic ChocolateCocoa refers to either the dried and partially fermented fatty seeds in the pod of the cacao tree. Cocoa is usually in the form of cocoa powder made from grinding the seed and removing the butter. Cacao (rhymes with cow) is the seed found in the pod of a cacao tree. This is this part that includes the butter and is used to make chocolate.
Related QuestionsWhere does the cacao come from?
Terra Nostra - Best Tasting Organic ChocolateTerra Nostra Organic uses cacao from places all around the world. Some areas are New Guinea, Peru, Ghana, Mexico, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic to name a few.
Related QuestionsWhat are the health benefits of cacao?
Chocolate Questions - questions About Chocolate - Yachana Ju...Recent studies have shown that eating chocolate may actually be good for you. Researchers have found that raw and/or minimally processed cacao - the same kind found in Yachana Jungle Chocolate - contains antioxidants which have been shown to help decrease blood pressure, defend against free radicals which trigger cancer, heart disease and stroke, and provide other health benefits. Please refer to our Health Benefits page for more information.
Related QuestionsHow can I learn first hand about cacao?
Chocolate Questions - questions About Chocolate - Yachana Ju...The annual cacao harvest in the Ecuadorian Amazon takes place from mid-March through July. Out partner, Yachana Lodge, offers especially designed " Chocolate Tours " during the cacao season. Guests are invited to visit one of the local small family farms to learn about the harvesting of cacao by local farmers. Next stop, the cacao collection center where cacao beans are carefully fermented to develop the cacao's rich chocolate flavor.
Related QuestionsWhat is the geography of the Cacao tree?
Chocolate FAQThe cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, is a tropical species having its natural habitat in the lower layer of the rainy forest. All wild-growing cacao species live between the 18°N and the 15°S, in regions characterized by heavy rains (125 to 180 cm per year), high and quite even temperature (18/21°C to 30/32°C), high humidity (70 to 100%) and thick shade.
Related QuestionsAre there any other species in addition to the Theobroma cacao?
Chocolate FAQYes, there are. The Theobroma bicolor is a species similar to the cacao tree, and is grown from southern Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil. Its beans are called pataxte; they are used to make a special drink, and can also produce a chocolate surrogate. The Theobroma grandiflorum, also known as cupuacu in Brazil, is used to make a drink obtained from the pulp surrounding the beans.
Related QuestionsWhat is the ideal yield of a cacao plant?
Chocolate FAQThe ideal yield that DOMORI expects from its plantations of flavor cocoa is: 700 plants per hectare - 70-100 fruits per plant - bean index above 1,8 (average weight of the dried bean) - pod index below 17 (number of fruits divided by the weight of dried cacao beans obtained from them) - butter content above 53% - shell not exceeding 11% Dogs and puppies do not have the ability as we humans do to digest a simple chemical found in chocolate called "Theobromine".
Related QuestionsWhat is Cacao and what does the % indicate?
Welcome to NESTLE CHOCOLATIER : Explore Chocolate : FAQCacao (Theobroma cacao) is a small (4–8 m tall) evergreen tree native to tropical South America , but now cultivated in several tropical locations within 10 to 20 degrees of the equator. Its seeds are used to make chocolate.
Related QuestionsWhat is the origin of the Cacao tree?
Untitled DocumentWe don't know much about cacao's origins. The Theobroma gene seems to date back to millions of years ago, whereas the Theobroma Cacao species might be 10 to 15 thousand years old, and maybe they stemmed from the man-made hybridation of species such as the Theobroma pentagona and the Theobroma leiocarpa.
Related QuestionsHow does the Cacao tree grow?
Untitled DocumentThe cacao tree starts making fruits in the fourth year. In the plantations it is necessary to check weeds, parasites, diseases; to manage the shade; to lope the tree, thereby strengthening it and modify its shape in view of a better productivity; to spray fertilisers, if used; to maintain the access ways and water supply.
Related QuestionsWhere does NEWTREE source its cacao beans?
FAQ and Health Benefits of Dark & Milk Chocolate - NEWTREE G...NEWTREE, we buy the chocolate, not the beans. The goal of our chocolate supplier is to provide us with a specific taste, resulting in the blend of beans from multiple origins. Therefore the origin can vary slightly from year to year. We are sensitive to the labor issues surrounding cacao farming and do not support any company along the supply chain involved with exploitative labor practices. back-to-top
Related QuestionsHow is cacao helping to preserve the Amazon Rainforest?
Chocolate Questions - questions About Chocolate - Yachana Ju...real incomes remain stagnant or decline, farmers turn to environmentally and socially destructive practices such as cattle ranching, logging, and the cultivation of illicit drugs in order to make a living. That is why cacao is rapidly becoming a way of saving the rainforest. Since it is a shade grown crop, there is no destruction of rainforest.
Related QuestionsIs chocolate with higher Cacao content darker?
Welcome to NESTLE CHOCOLATIER : Explore Chocolate : FAQYes, a higher cacao % indicates a higher concentration of chocolate components, which means richer and darker chocolate.
Related QuestionsWhy is it the higher the cacao content, the better the quality chocolate?
Terra Nostra - Best Tasting Organic ChocolateHigher cacao content reduces the amount of sugar so this in itself equals higher quality. However, higher cacao content does not necessarily imply better chocolate. Chocolate such as Terra Nostra Organic needs high cacao content PLUS high quality cacao beans, proper roasting, long conching and added cocoa butter as no soy lecithin is added. This is what makes a high quality chocolate.
Related QuestionsWhy would I want to use a higher Cacao percentage in my recipes?
Welcome to NESTLE CHOCOLATIER : Explore Chocolate : FAQThe higher the cacao percentage of chocolate used in your recipe, the richer the chocolate experience.
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