Where does chocolate come from?

Answer 1

The chocolate that we eat or use in desserts is the product of a long and delicate process that starts with the cacao tree. This marvelous tree grows in humid, tropical regions, between 10° north and 10° south of the equator. This zone, which can be enlarged in places to 20°, is called "the cacao belt."

The ideal altitude for a good plantation is between 400 and 600 meters (1300 and 1970 feet). The cacao tree, also called the cacao palm and the chocolate tree, is very fragile and highly dependent on the ambient heat and humidity. It often grows in the shade provided by other trees, such as the banana, which are taller and more robust.

The fruit of the cacao tree, called a pod, presents a rather startling appearance, as it grows right on the tree trunk. A pod weighs between 200 and 800 grams (7 to 27 ounces) and takes 5 to 6 months to arrive at maturity. There are three families of cacao trees, each with highly characteristic beans : The criollo is of exceptional quality, highly aromatic, and almost without bitterness. It is used by luxury chocolate makers. Relatively rare (this family is actually disappearing) and very expensive, we use these to make Grand Cru chocolates with unique flavor.

Criollo cocoa beans are grown, for the most part, in South America. The forastero is originally from the Upper Amazon and is to cocoa what robusta is to coffee. It has a very pronounced, full-bodied flavor. Today this ordinary cocoa bean is grown mainly in Africa. It accounts for 85% of the world's production.

The trinitario is the result of a hybridization between the other two families and is named for the island of Trinidad. It combines the delicate savor of the criollo and the force of the forastero. Although two thirds of the world's cocoa bean production comes from Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, etc.), producing countries are present throughout the "cacao belt" and include Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Colombia, the Caribbean islands, Jamaica, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.

Just as the geography is different, so too are the beans grown in all these various countries. Each has a personality, a certain something not present in the others. Cocoa beans can be harvested all year long. In many countries, however, there are two production peaks: November to January and May to July. Harvesting is a delicate operation, as the cacao tree is too fragile for the picker to climb it. Instead, he uses a long pole equipped with a sharp blade.

The maturity of a cocoa pod is measured by its color change, from green to yellow or from red to orange, and by the hollow sound it makes when struck. Once picked, the fruit is split with a machete, an operation requiring much hand labor. Each pod can contain up to 40 beans, which are surrounded by a white pulp called mucilage.

Answer 2

I think from somewhere in Africa

I think from somewhere in Africa

No, it was native to the amazon region of south America before people brought it to Africa. seriously, use wikipedia more

Answer 3

Chocolate is natural. It comes from the cocoa bean.

The first people to make chocolate were the ancient meso American tribes of Mexico and Central America, including the Incas, Aztec and Mayans. They mixed ground cacao, or kah-kow seeds with seasonings to make a spicy, drink called chocolate. It was rather bitter however, so the Spaniard conquistadors, who had been served this drink by the Aztec Emperor, Montezuma, decided to add sugar cane to the drink to create a drink more palatable to European tastes.

Chocolate drink arrived in England in the 1650s and was popular in King Charles II's court. In 1657 London's very first Chocolate House was advertised: 'In Bishopsgate Street, in Queen's Head Alley, at a Frenchman's house, is an excellent West Indian drink called Chocolate to be sold, where you may have it ready at any time and also unmade at reasonable rates.'

It was not until the late 1700s that the first form of solid chocolate was invented by a Frenchman, Doret who designed a machine to crush the beans and mix and blend the chocolate paste. In 1780, an entrepreneur began the mechanical production of chocolate in Bayonne. In 1819 Francois Louis Cailler opened the first Swiss chocolate factory on the banks of Lake Lehman (Lake Geneva) and there produced the first bar of chocolate in history.

Answer 4

Chocolate is made from the seeds (beans) of the cacao tree.

Answer 5

chocolate comes from cows and factories milf

Answer 6

It (or rather the raw beans) come from the Cacao tree.

Answer 7

South America and Mexico.

Answer 8

Coco Plant

Answer 9

Fruit tree