The Chocolate Tree

The Cacao Tree - Source of Chocolate and Cocoa Butter

Apr 27, 2009
Sharon Falsetto

Chocolate From The Cacao Tree - Jorge Gonzalez, istockphoto

The cacao tree is responsible for producing an ingredient for chocolate and cocoa butter; however, originally ancient tribes used the chocolate tree medicinally too.

The cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) is a small, tropical, evergreen tree which grows to approximately between 12 and 25 feet in height; it is native to Central and South America and the West Indies. Today the cacao tree is cultivated in West Africa, Java, Ceylon, Costa Rica, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador and other tropical places.

The Seeds of the Cacao Tree

The cacao tree is a member of the Sterculisceae plant family. It is the seeds of the cacao tree which are considered to be of the most value and ancient people did, in fact, use the seeds of the cacao tree as an early form of money, such was their value; the Mayan people of Mexico traded cacao seeds extensively throughout their empire.

The Use of the Cacao Tree by Ancient Tribes

In the study of ethnobotany, it has been discovered that the cacao tree has been used in:

Mexico – for wounds and snake bites
Panama – as an antiseptic and in pregnancy
Japan – as a suppository base
Haiti – for burns and rheumatism
Ghana – for coughs
Rest of the World – as a coffee and liqueur.

The Extraction of Cacao

At source, cocoa beans have no odor and are bitter to taste; the characteristic 'cocoa' taste and color is acquired after extraction and fermentation. Extraction of the seeds of the cacao tree is a complex process; the cacao seeds are fermented, washed and dried through a process of hulling, roasting and hot expression before the production of cocoa and cocoa butter.

The Use of Cacao for Chocolate

It is believed that the ancient Mayan people were the first to produce a hot chocolate drink, although it was not hot chocolate as is known today; the Maya celebrated birth, marriage and death with hot chocolate brews, as well as other special life events. Chocolate made its way to Europe through the Spanish explorations of South America in the late 17th century; the first European solid chocolate was made in 1847 by the Englishman Joseph Fry.

The Use of Cacao for Cocoa Butter

The cacao tree was first cultivated to make cocoa butter in Europe in 1695, during the Spanish explorations of South America; cocoa butter is also known as theobroma. Cocoa butter is more accurately described as a solid fat, which melts at body temperature, and is used therapeutically as a massage 'oil' and as a cosmetic and ointment base.

Other Uses of the Cacao Tree

The seeds (or beans) of the cacao tree are also used in culinary dishes for flavoring meat and fish dishes, although the main use of the cacao bean is in chocolate. Traditional plant use of cocoa butter included the treatment of wrinkles, bronchitis, diarrhea and lung congestion, perhaps combined with other ingredients.

The Chocolate Tree

The tropical cacao tree has been used for centuries in various ways by many cultures; its common usage for cocoa butter has made it well known for therapeutic purposes. However, it is in its use for chocolate that the cacao tree has gained its nickname ' the chocolate tree'.