Posts Tagged Different Kinds Of Chocolate

History Of Cocoa

Cocoa, the dried and fully fermented fatty seed that is derived from the cacao tree, is used to make different kinds of chocolates. The almond-like soft and pinkish, or purplish, cocoa seeds grow inside cocoa pods, which have a rough leathery rind skin. After being taken out from the pods, the seeds are dried and roasted. The cacao trees, in which the fatty seeds of cocoa grow, have been grown since centuries. Read on to get interesting information on the background, history and origin of cocoa.

Interesting Information On Background & Origin Of Cocoa

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Cocoa Bean to Chocolate – Where Did it All Begin?

Cacao, “kakaw” in Mayan and “cacahuatl” in Nahuatl, is the cocoa plant from which we get the raw materials in making chocolates and other cocoa products. It is native to the deep tropical regions of America. The cacao tree originated in the Amazon and was distributed by travelers and traders throughout Central America and Mesoamerica according to studies made into the origin of the Theobroma cacao. Cacao and its cocoa beans were highly prized during this time because the beans were used as money and were processed to create drinks for medicinal and ritual purposes. The stimulating effect of cocoa was an important factor to promote health and to cure sickness.

The Mayans were the first known cultivators of cacao plantations in the lowlands of south Yucatan as far back as 600 AD. Cacao trees were already being grown by the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru even before the Europeans discovered Central America. According to Mayan belief, cacao was discovered by the gods in a mountain and Maya mythology tells of the Plumed Serpent which gave the cacao to the Mayans when humans were created by Xmucane, their divine grandmother goddess.

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