The cocoa bean was a common currency throughout Mesoamerica before the Spanish conquest. : 2 Cacao trees grow in a limited geographical zone, of about 20° to the north and south of the Equator. Nearly 70% of the world crop today is grown in West Africa.
A common question we ran across in our research was “Where are cocoa beans grown in Africa?”.
The production of cocoa begins in the tropical regions around the Equator, where the hot and humid climate is well suited for growing cocoa trees. 70% of the world’s cocoa beans come from four West African countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.
Pods containing cocoa beans grow from the trunk and branches of the cocoa tree. Harvesting involves removing ripe pods from the trees and opening them to extract the wet beans. Pods are suitable for harvest for 3 to 4 weeks, after which time the beans begin to germinate. Click to read full detail here. Where are cocoa beans grown?
One more question we ran across in our research was “Where does cocoa grow in the world?”.
Cocoa beans typically grow within 20 degrees of the equator. This distinctive growing region is commonly referred to as the “cocoa belt.” Where does cocoa come from? Cocoa beans, or cacao beans, come from the Theobroma cacao tree. The Theobroma cacao tree is a fruit tree, whose name means “food of the gods”.
Where do cacao beans come from?
Cocoa beans, or cacao beans, come from the Theobroma cacao tree. The Theobroma cacao tree is a fruit tree, whose name means “food of the gods”.
Cacao originated in South and Central America and they still grow around 15% of the world’s cocoa beans. Brazil was actually the largest cocoa producer in the world throughout the 19 th century until the Ivory Coast and West Africa took that mantle from them.
What are the best cocoa beans in the world?
Rare cacao varietals such as Nacional and Porcelana have been found in parts of northern South America, and many people regard those as some of the best cocoa beans in the world. The Caribbean island of Trinidad only grows trinitario cacao, a highly flavorful type of cacao developed on the island hundreds of years ago.
This of course begs the inquiry “What is a cocoa bean?”
One source claimed the cocoa bean is the seed of the cacao tree, a tropical plant that is indigenous to the equatorial regions of the Americas but is now grown in many countries with a warm, tropical climate.
What is the scientific name of cocoa bean?
, and cocoa bean. The cocoa bean or simply cocoa (/ˈkoʊ.koʊ/), which is also called the cacao bean or cacao (/kəˈkaʊ/), is the dried and fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao, from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances) and cocoa butter (the fat) can be extracted.
There were 5.2 million tonnes of cocoa beans produced in 2017 supplying an ever-increasing worldwide demand for chocolate. The global chocolate market was valued at USD 103.28 billion in 2017 and expected to grow to around USD 161.56 billion by 2024.
But a bean is a bean, cocoa or otherwise. And therefore contains an outer casing — a pod — and beans (actually, technically, seeds) inside. Cacao beans, hopefully not too surprisingly, grow on cacao trees and are actually pretty big — sort of the shape and size of a small football.