Cocoa Tree Large

The cacao tree is cultivated in countries around the equator and produces cocoa beans, from which chocolate is made. It grows between 20°N and 20°S and has high demands for rainfall, temperature, and soil fertility. Cacao trees grow poorly in full sun. Therefore, cocoa is usually grown under shade trees. It is a challenge to grow this plant as a houseplant; they can be moved outside (in the shade) during the summer. In nature, a cacao tree can live for more than 50 years, grow up to 10 m tall, and form a dense crown of leathery leaves. When the tree is approximately 4 years old, it begins to flower. The small white or pink flowers grow directly on the trunk and on the thick branches. Once it starts flowering, the cacao tree flowers continuously almost all year round. The tree therefore also constantly bears fruit.
Inflorescence
Despite the long flowering period, the cacao tree produces only 30-40 (elongated melon-like) fruits per year. These are picked and then broken open; the cocoa beans are in the middle of the fruit. Each fruit contains 40-50 "beans", each weighing approximately 1 g. An average cacao tree therefore yields 1-2 kg of beans per year. These, along with the remaining pulp, are fermented by fungi and bacteria for 5 days. During this process, the temperature rises to 50°C. The germ of the seed is killed, and the color changes from purple to brown. Fermentation forms the flavor precursors for the chocolate taste. The beans are then dried in the sun or in drying houses. These are then ready for export.
History
Cacao is indigenous to Central America and the northern part of South America. The Aztecs associated cacao with Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility. They drank a cacao beverage (Xocoatl) often flavored with vanilla, chili pepper, and allspice.
Cocoa beans also served as currency for the Aztecs. For 10 beans, a rabbit could be bought, while a slave could reportedly be purchased for 100 beans. The Spanish conqueror Fernando Cortez was the first to bring a large quantity of cocoa beans to Europe in 1528.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, cacao was planted in Asia, particularly in Ceylon, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In South America, production spread to Brazil. Cacao trees were also planted in Africa, on the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana). A freed slave brought the beans from a plantation on Femando-Po to his homeland in 1879.
In 2002, 79% of global production came from Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Brazil. One of the most commonly used insecticides in cocoa cultivation in West Africa is lindane (hexachlorocyclohexane), a toxic organochlorine compound similar to DDT.
The Netherlands has traditionally played an important role in the cocoa trade. Cacao trees were planted in Suriname. After the abolition of slavery in 1863, these cocoa plantations were no longer profitable. Amsterdam is still the most important global port for cocoa, with approximately 500,000 tons of cocoa beans transshipped here annually. In 1828, Conrad van Houten discovered how to remove fat from the beans, creating cocoa powder and cocoa butter. This was the basis for today's chocolate.
COCOA IS NOT EASY TO CULTIVATE. GIVE THEM A WARM AND HUMID PLACE; DUE TO THE NEED FOR HIGH HUMIDITY, SPOTS MAY APPEAR ON THE LEAVES, SO DON'T BE TOO CRITICAL…! IT IS YOUR CHALLENGE AS A GROWER TO HELP THEM FURTHER.

Names:
Latin: Theobroma cacao
Dutch: Cacaoboom
English: Cacao Tree, Cocoa Tree