Chocolate

Chocolate in its raw form is known as cocoa and originates from South America, growing in Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico and the Caribbean. These native countries continue to grow cocoa today and are noted for producing some of the best cocoa in the world.

The cocoa tree lives in the lower canopy of the rainforest with mother trees protecting their fragility from extensive wind and rain. Cocoa grows best at 10-20° latitude either side of the equator, which is how cocoa migrated across the globe. The trees flourish in a very humid atmosphere at about 20-35°C (68-95°F) in South America, the Caribbean, Central America, along the west coast of Africa and parts of Asia.