The process from cocoa fruit to cocoa in Baracoa Cuba

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In Baracoa we visited Finca La Esperanza to see how cacao grows and is processed. Theobroma cacao also cacao tree and cocoa tree, evergreen treeIts seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make cocoa mass, cocoa powder, and chocolate. Cacao trees grow poorly in full sun and therefore cocoa usually grown under shade trees. A cacao tree can be over 50 years old, up to 10 meters high and has a moderately thick trunk. If the tree is about 4 years old, he is going to flourish and the flowers are produced in clusters directly on the trunk and older branches. The flowers are small with pink calyx. While many of the world's flowers are pollinated by bees (Hymenoptera) or butterflies/moths (Lepidoptera), cacao flowers are pollinated by tiny flies, Forcipomyia midges. The fruit, called a cacao pod, is ovoid, ripening yellow to orange/red, • and weighs about 500 g (1.1 lb) when ripe. The cocoa tree yields only 30 to 40 fruits per year. (1 to 2 pounds of beans). The pod contains 20 to 60 seeds, usually called beans , • embedded in a white pulp. The seeds are the main ingredient of chocolate, while the pulp is used in some countries to prepare refreshing juice, smoothies, jelly. Each seed contains a significant amount of fat (40--50%) as cocoa butter. Their most noted active constituent istheobromine, a compound similar to caffeine. • For more information about Cuba...a special island take a look at my blog: http://holidaycuba.blogspot.nl/

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