Homework Help: Science: Biology: Cocoa

Introduction

Where is Cocoa Grown? Many countries grow cocoa including: Mexico, Jamaica, Cuba, Peru, Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Costa Rica and many more.

The main producers of cocoa are:

• West Africa - Ghana, Nigeria and Cote D’lvoire grow some of the best cocoa in the world
• South America - Brazil and Equador
• Asia - Malaysia and Indonesia, where cocoa is quite new.

Cocoa was first planted in Ghana and now is a major crop. Families work together to grow the cocoa. The farming is unsophisticated in these areas and the people use nearly no mechanical help. But now in the Far East private plantations have been build as well as the small family farms.

The History of Cocoa

The earliest thing that we know of cocoa dates back to the year 1492. Until then no one knew about the delicious chocolate that would become a huge money making business all over the world. We know that cocoa was discovered in America by Christopher Columbus. The court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella got its first look at the cocoa after Columbus returned. Christopher laid down many interesting objects before the Spanish throne including the dark brown cocoa beans.

The King and Queen never imagined the possibilities of cocoa so it was left to Hernando Cortez to find out the possibilities of cocoa. During Hernando’s conquest of Mexico, he found Aztec Indians using cocoa to make a drink called "chocolate" meaning warm liquid. In 1519 Emperor Montzuma served chocolatl to his Spanish guests in golden goblets.

However Montzuma’s chocolatl was very bitter so he decided to add can sugar to sweeten it. After that the drink underwent many more changes, adding newly found spices such as vanilla and cinnamon.

Spain was mad over the drink and wisely, they decided to plant cocoa overseas which became a very profitable business. Spain also managed to keep the cocoa industry a secret from the rest of Europe for nearly a hundred years. The secret was finally let out by Spanish monks who processed the beans. Soon the drink was a craze all over Europe and travelled across the channel to the UK.

The hand methods of making the drink stopped making way to the mass production of chocolate. They used a steam engine to which controlled the grinding. By 1730 chocolate had dropped in price so all could afford the chocolate.

In 1828 the invention of the cocoa press lowered the prices even further it also improved the taste of the drink because it squeezed out part of the cocoa butter, the fat that occurs naturally in cocoa beans. From then on drinking chocolate was as pleasing as it is today.

In 1847, an English company introduced solid eating chocolate and made it smoother as was quite different from the rough chocolate the world was used to. Then Daniel Peter in Switzerland found out a way to add milk making the chocolate we enjoy today "milk chocolate".

Now chocolate is huge all over the world eaten by children to adults all year round. Chocolate has even been taken into space as part of the astronaut’s diet.

Growing the Cocoa Bean

Cocoa beans grow on the cacao tree. The origin of the cacao tree is uncertain. Some say it originated in the Amazon basin of Brazil, others say it was in the Orinoco Valley of Venezuela, while others think it started in Central America.

Where ever the cacao tree came from we know that it is a tropical plant and will only survive in hot, rainy weather. So the tree only grows anywhere 20 degrees north or south of the equator.

The cacao tree is very sensitive it needs protection from the wind and requires some shade under most conditions, especially in the first 2 to 4 years of growth.

A newly planted cacao tree needs a lot of shade and is usually sheltered by a different type of crop such as banana or coconuts. Rubber trees and forest trees are also used for shade. But once the trees are old enough they can grow in full sunlight providing there is good soil and they are well looked after.

Cacao trees always start in nursery gardens and are planted in pots or plastic bags. The seedlings grow so fast that in a few months they are ready to be replanted.

With enough good care the trees should have fruit when they are five years old. With some really good care some trees care have fruit in their third and forth years.

The cacao tree is evergreen and has large glossy leaves that are red when young and green when mature. Sometimes orchids can grow on the branches of the tree. The tree also grows pink or white blossoms on the trunk and most mature branches. However, only three to ten percent of these will grow into fruit.

The maximum lifespan of the cacao tree is unknown some are some trees that are over 200 years old. But after 25 years the trees are usually replaced with new trees so that the cocoa does not get to old.

My Opinion on Cocoa

I feel that cocoa is very important in the world because without it countries such as Africa and others that grow the cocoa would be much poorer than they are now as the cocoa business brings in quite a lot of money for these countries. There would also be a lot of traditions that wouldn’t exist such as chocolate Easter eggs at Easter, there wouldn’t be chocolate advent calendars and there wouldn’t be boxes of chocolate for birthdays and Valentines Day. Also many people wouldn’t have jobs including: the people in the countries farming the crop, the people in the factories and the people in shops selling the chocolate. Overall I don’t think I could imagine are world without cocoa.

Homework Help: Science: Biology

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