The story of chocolate part 1

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The story of chocolate begins in the rainforest, where cocoa trees grow. Pods grow on the cocoa trees and inside the pods are seeds called cocoa beans. These cocoa beans are the magical ingredient in chocolate.


Cocoa trees grow in the hot, damp shade under the leafy canopy of the tallest tree in the rainforest. There, the cocoa trees blossom with pink and white flowers. These flowers grow strait from the trunk and main branches. Tiny insects called midges carry pollen between the blossoms, fertilising them so cocoa pods will grow.

Only a few of the hundreds of blossoms develop into cocoa pods. Like the blossoms, the pods grow straight from the trunk and branches of the tree. Many cocoa trees grow both blossoms and pods all year around.

 In about 4 months, the cocoa pods grow to the size of melons. It takes another month before they are fully ripe. The colour of the ripe pods ranges from yellow to dark red. The pods are hard and must be split open to show the beans. Each pod contains 40 cocoa beans surrounded by sticky white pulp. These are the precious beans that make chocolate. Who first discovered these  strange looking beans, from these strange looking trees, could be used to make such a delicious treat.

 Cocoa trees grew in the ancient area called Mesoamerica, which includes Mexico and Central America. Many experts believe that the first people to crack open a cocoa pod were the ancient Olmecs, who lived from about 1200 to 200 BCE.

Reference: Polin C.J., The Story of Chocolate, DK READERS, 2005. 

This is a link to the next part. If you want to read it you can tap this link.



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