Cacao is the origin of all things chocolate. If you love hot cocoa, chocolate bars, chocolate milk, and chocolate chip cookies, you can thank the cacao bean from the cacao tree.
The tree is an evergreen that is native to the tropics of South and Central America. The tree produces a pod, or fruit, each of which contains between 20 and 60 seeds. These seeds are the cacao beans and are the part of the plant that is the main ingredient in chocolate.
To make chocolate from cacao beans, the beans and pulp are removed from the pods and left out to dry. The pulp ultimately liquefies and drips away, leaving just the dried beans. The process of drying is important to developing the flavor of the beans. If done incorrectly, or interrupted, the beans will not taste right.
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