Cacao

Description:

My favoritest tree in the whole world! Chocolate! yumm! A medium-sized, slow-growing tree with deep green shiny leaves. The flowers emerge directly from the trunk instead of the twigs. Flowers are a bit less than an inch in diameter (2 cm). The long, hard, oval pods can be quite large, up to 12 inches long. Inside the pods are fleshy white clumps. In each of these there is a seed... the "cocoa bean". The flesh is actually very sweet and delicious to eat. Pop the whole thing in your mouth and carefull chew around it. Then spit out the seed.

Habitat:

Originally traced to Central and South America, it is now cultivated in many deep tropical nations around the world. THIS one is at my inlaws home in Bohol. Yumm!!!

Notes:

The seed of course is then dried, ground, and formed into waxy "coins" called Tableya. Pop two or three of these in a cup of boiling water, and boil for about 3 minutes. Add sugar, and VOILA... the absolute BEST cup of 100% pure hot chocolate you will ever every have. (Just be mindful of how much you take at one sitting... it's like a shot of espresso... you'll get a buzz off of too much! While it does NOT contain caffeine, it does have a chemical called Theobromine, which has similar effects. Just better. LOL)