Cocoa beans

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Cocoa beans


Cocoa beans are the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree. They are the key ingredient for chocolate bonbons, confectionery and beverages. The beans are harvested, fermented, dried and finally roasted to give them depth and develop all their cocoa aromas.
The cocoa bean is the seed of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), a tropical plant indigenous to the equatorial regions of the Americas. From the processed cocoa bean comes the fluid paste, or liquor, from which cocoa powder and chocolate are made.
The ripe cocoa fruits are yellow, greenish, yellow-red, and red to red-brown. They have the shape of American football balls. They grow to be about 25 cm long and have a thick shell. In the center is a white, sweet pulp with 25 to 50 seeds arranged in five rows.
An evergreen tree with shiny, leathery, egg-shaped leaves that start red and turn green. The young leaves are red and droop to deter herbivores. It is cauliflorous, meaning the tiny, yellowish-white to pale pink flowers grow in clusters directly from the trunk and large branches.
Cocoa beans are the seeds of the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao). The beans are used to make chocolate and are a source of many antioxidants. Cocoa contains a variety of chemicals, including antioxidants called flavonoids. It's not clear how these might work in the body, but they appear to relax the blood vessels.