The Nahuatl word, in turn, ultimately derives from the reconstructed Proto-Mixe–Zoquean word kakawa. br />
Information Last Updated: 01/04/2015

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Cacao beans have been used for centuries by the Mayans in ancient ceremonies – partly because it is seen as the ‘Food of the Gods’ due to its active ingredient theobromine, which when translated, means exactly that phrase.The high yielding plants of forastero made it an easy choice for growers, and even up until the mid 20th century, growers replaced the criollo crop with the low quality forastero for this reason. At least 29% of global cocoa production was compliant with voluntary sustainability standards in 2016. They are the basis of chocolate and Mesoamerican foods including tejate, an indigenous Mexican drink. Other media followed by reporting widespread child slavery and child trafficking in the production of cocoa.

It was first domesticated at least 5,300 years ago, in equatorial South America from the Santa Ana-La Florida (SALF) site in what is present-day southeast Ecuador ( Zamora-Chinchipe Province) by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture, before being introduced in Mesoamerica. In 2021, several companies were named in a class action lawsuit filed by eight former children from Mali who alleged that the companies aided and abetted their enslavement on cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast. Finally, the beans are trodden and shuffled about (often using bare human feet) and sometimes, during this process, red clay mixed with water is sprinkled over the beans to obtain a finer color, polish, and protection against molds during shipment to factories in other countries.However, among the different certifications there are significant differences in their goals and approaches, and a lack of data to show and compare the results on the farm level. This "liquor" is then further processed into chocolate by mixing in (more) cocoa butter and sugar (and sometimes vanilla and lecithin as an emulsifier), and then refined, conched and tempered. The genetic purity of cocoas sold today as Criollo is disputed, as most populations have been exposed to the genetic influence of other varieties. A good chocolate maker, like any maker of good wine or coffee, pays attention to the raw beans being used to produce chocolate. Only the best of the best make it into our curated collection, offering you a world-class chocolate experience in every bite.