Chocolate is one of the World’s most craved and common items, but it was once only found in the shady, wet rainforests of tropical America. Rainforest plants provide people with many useful products, such as rubber and cashews, but chocolate is certainly the most famous gift of the rainforest. Today chocolate is a prized favor for costumed trick-or-treaters, the premium birthday cake, and adored Valentine’s Day gift. We can find chocolate at every check-out counter, but this every-day food has a far more exotic and elaborate history than you might expect.
Sidebar: In spite of the similarity of names, the cacao tree from which we get chocolate has nothing to do with the coconut or with coca. The following list explains the differences and the main terms you’ll need for this site on chocolate.
Cacao: Refers to the tree, Theobroma cacao, that produces seeds used to manufacture chocolate, and to the raw seeds.
Coca: Unrelated to the cacao tree. Coca refers to the leaves of the coca shrub, Erythroxylum coca, which are chewed as a stimulant or brewed as a tea by people of the Andes. The leaves are also the source of cocaine.
Cocoa: Refers to the powdery product obtained by removing cocoa butter from ground cocoa beans (chocolate liquor). Combined with milk or water to produce the hot cocoa beverage loved by Americans.
Cocoa beans: refers to the seeds of Theobroma cacao, once they have undergone the roasting process.
Cocoa butter: the fatty component of ground cacao seeds, which makes up about 50% of the cacao seeds weight
Coconut: Unrelated to the cacao tree. The coconut is the fruit of the coco palm, Cocos nucifera, which is the source of coconut milk and shredded coconut, often an ingredient in baked goods.
