Cacao, 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.

The 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. See similar questions...

The 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. See similar questions...

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. See similar questions...

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. See similar questions...

Cocoa 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. See similar questions...

Terra 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. See similar questions...

The 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. See similar questions...

Yes, 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. See similar questions...

The 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". See similar questions...

Cacao (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. See similar questions...

We 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. See similar questions...

The 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. See similar questions...