EVERYTHING STARTS WITH STRONG AND HEALTHY ROOTS

Theobroma cocoa belongs to the family of sterculiaceae. Cocoa trees attain a height of 8-10 m. The blossoms appear in the many year old wood of the leaf axil, on the trunk and on the branches (Kauliflorie). Blossoms can appear throughout the whole year, providing no extreme drought periods or seasonal temperature fluctuations occur. The berries develop within 5-6 months from blossoms that are pollinated by insects, mainly of the species Forcipomyia and Lasioshelea.

Cocoa trees can live for over one hundred years. Naturally occurring cocoa crops propagate themselves through lateral shoots, which can occur at any height on the trunk. The natural vegetative proliferation occurs when the seeds are spread by small rodents and apes.

The cocoa fruit has a cucumber-like shape, and is about 25 cm long, 8-10 cm thick and weighs 300-400 g. The shell, which can be up to 20 mm thick, surrounds the sugar-rich, bitter-sweet, acrid pulp. The fruit contains 25-50 almond-shaped, bitter tasting seeds, in 5-8 long rows: the cocoa beans.