CACAO (Theobroma Cacao) – The Tree of Life

Agric4Profits May 19, 2023June 10, 2023 0 Comments Crops

One of the world’s most magical and incredible trees is the cocoa tree. The botanical name is theobroma cacao, which, roughly translated, means “food of the gods” or more literally “God food.”

There are actually several trees that are members of the theobroma species, such as theobroma bicolor. Only one is used for making chocolate — theobroma cacao.

In order for the cacao tree to produce cacao beans that are later to be used in making chocolate, all the conditions must be absolutely perfect. Any significant deviation, and the cacao tree will not provide much (if any) fruit, or it may not survive.

The subject matter content of this article starts with the botanical description of cacao through cultivation activities harvesting and processing of cacao seeds called cocoa.

It ends with the chemical analysis and composition of cocoa as they affect the composition and flavour of chocolate and other products of cocoa.

Botany of Cacao

Scientific classification of cocoa;

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Malvales

Family: Sterculiaceae

Genus: Theobroma

Species: cacao

Binomial name: TheobromacacaoLineus(L).

Cocoa Tree(CACAO) Varieties

Criollos dominated the market until the middle of the eighteenth century but today only a few, if any, pure Criollo trees remain. Criollo cacao typically has red or yellow pods, some being green or white (as in the case of Porcelana). The pods have bumpy or warty skin with pointed tips.

The beans, on the other hand, vary from light purple to white in color, and they are plump and full. In general, the beans from criollo cacao are considered to have a finer flavor than that of other varieties of cacao.

The criollo trees are not very disease-resistant, and hence they are hard for farmers to grow and keep healthy.

Typically when chocolate is made from the criollo beans, the chocolate is not overly rich, though the resulting chocolate will have a complex flavor that is often reminiscent of various fruits and spices. Criollo beans are therefore considered to be “flavor beans” because of their heightened flavor characteristics.

Cocoa Pod

Because of trade with Venezuela, Venezuelan criollo cacao may be found throughout the entire Central American region, including Mexico, most notably the states of Tabasco and Oaxaca. Even so, these regions still have their own “native” (or criollo) varieties.

Forastero is a large group containing cultivated, semi-wild and wild populations of which the Amelonado populations are the most extensively planted.

Large areas of Brazil and West Africa are planted with Amelonado. Amelonado varieties include, Comum in Brazil, West African Amelonado in Africa, Cacao Nacional in Ecuador and Matina or Ceylan in Costa Rica and Mexico.

Recently large plantations throughout the world used Upper Amazon hybrids. Today, Forastero mainly refers to cacao that has its ancestry from the upper Amazon basin.

Through trade, this cacao has been spread throughout much of the cacao-growing world, including Africa. Today, the largest producers of cocoa beans are the Ivory Coast and Ghana, where forastero was established very early in the cocoa trade.

Because of this and the disease resistance of this variety, the top producing countries are primarily forastero. Most of the chocolate produced in the world today is made from forastero beans.

The hull of the cocoa pod, rather than being deeply furrowed with a knobby skin and pointed pod, as the criollo pods are, are relatively smooth, with more of a bulbous pod shape. In addition, the hull is also woodier than the criollo, and thus the pods are harder to open.

The pods may also be red or yellow, as well as orange or purple. The beans themselves are very dark purple and are relatively flat compared to those of the criollo.

The forastero does not have the complexity of flavor of the criollo, nor does it have nearly the spicy and fruity notes that one may find in the criollo as well. Instead, the forastero has a much richer “chocolate” flavor.

Because of this, forastero beans are usually considered “bulk beans,” while the criollos are considered “flavor beans.” Chocolate makers will typically use primarily the forastero for their chocolate blends to create a rich, chocolate flavor background, then add a variety of flavor beans to make the final flavor of the chocolate more complex and interesting.

While the cocoa from Ecuador is fine in flavor, it is generally considered to be a Forastero by popular classification. The flavor is very similar to that of other forasteros, with the addition of fruity overtones that other forasteros typically do not have.

This cocoa is native to Ecuador, and thus it is a criollo (native) as far as Ecuador is concerned. As may be imagined, this could have caused plenty of confusion except that the native cocoa variety has been named Nacional, thus preventing further confusion of the criollo name than already exists.

As mentioned, unlike the criollo, the Forastero varieties are much more hardy and disease-resistant. Because of this, they are favored by farmers who, while they may not be able to command as high a price for the resulting beans, they are guaranteed of a much more saleable crop.

Trinitario is considered to belong to the Forasteros although they are a cross between Criollo and Forastero.

As the name implies, the trinitario originates from the island nation of Trinidad. Today, trinitario along with criollo provides the basis for “flavor beans,” used to enhance the flavor of today’s chocolate.

As with forastero, trinitario cocoa pods are typically not pointed, and the skin of the pods is relatively smooth (compared to that of the pods of the criollo). The cocoa beans are also flat and purple when cut in half.

It is worth mentioning that as with forastero, trinitario has spread throughout the world as a major cocoa crop. Even so, the quantities of forastero grown dwarf those of trinitario— though trinitario has a finer flavor.

One of the major sites of the original planting of Trinitario was Trinidad and then Sri Lanka (Ceylon), where it became famous for its fine flavor. Trinitario was first planted in Ceylon in 1834.

During that same time period, it was transplanted to Fiji, Madagascar, Samoa, Singapore, and Tanzania. Later it spread to Venezuela and then was planted in Ecuador, Cameroon, Java and Papua New Guinea.

Today, trinitario is highly sought after by chocolatiers worldwide for its fine flavor and is used both to provide flavor for chocolate created from “bulk beans” as well as to create super-premium chocolate when used by itself.

Cocoa Flowers

The cacao flower is one of the most beautiful flowers in the world. It does take a keen eye, however, to appreciate them, because they are very small — only about one-half inch across. They are incredibly delicate, in addition to having a complex structure,

Unlike most flowers, they grow directly from the trunk of the tree or from the body of the branches; when the tree is in bloom, the trunk and branches are covered with literally thousands of tiny, yet beautiful cocoa flowers.

It is interesting to note that the cacao flowers have no smell. It is for this reason that bees and other pollinating insects do not fertilize the cacao flowers but instead leave pollination to other insects.

Pollination of the cacao flower occurs by the actions of midges and other jungle insects. Midges are a type of gnat that live on the jungle floor under leaves and other debris.

When they fertilize the cocoa flower, it is not through attraction by the flower by either scent or nectar (because there isn’t any of either) but simply through random chance.

It is perhaps for this reason that the cocoa tree is furnished with the massive quantities of flowers that it is. It has been estimated that on average only one out of one hundred cacao flowers will become fertilized and grow into a cocoa pod.

It is interesting to think how the lowly midge (or gnat) is responsible for fertilizing the cacao tree and creating one of the world’s greatest foods.

If the flower is fertilized and conditions are perfect, the cacao flowers will start to grow into cacao pods. Even at this stage, a pod is not guaranteed.

The vast majority of pods that start to develop will grow until they are a few inches long’ then if the conditions are still not just right, the pod will die.

The baby cocoa pod is called a chileo because it looks like a baby chili. For one reason or another, many cocoa pods do not make it past the chileo stage.

Everything must be perfect in order for the cocoa tree to develop a cocoa pod to full maturity. As the cocoa pod grows and develops, it will begin to take on one of a wide variety of possible shapes and colors.

Cocoa pods are shaped a bit like an American style football. They can be smooth, wrinkly, or warty. They can be long and pointed, or they can be bulbous, like a melon or papaya.

The colors of cocoa pods are equally as great. Colors such as red, purple, yellow and green are common.

Other members of the genus Theobroma and their possible origins

Theobroma bicolor is a species, similar to cacao, cultivated from southern Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil. It produces beans that are called pataxte.

These are used to make a drink or they can be used to make a poor quality chocolate. The beans are sometimes used to adulterate true cacao produce.

Theobroma grandiflorum, known as cupuaçu in Brazil, is used to produce a drink from the mucilage around the beans.

In modern day Amazonia, the Arawete and Asurini Indians cultivate Theobroma speciosum. The Indians can make a crude, low quality chocolate from the seeds of T. speciosum, but the pulp is more generally eaten.