The World of Cocoa

Cocoa is a crop that has been around for centuries now. Over the years, the cocoa has been developed and refined into thousands of different recipes and used through several different applications. Cocoa is affected directly by weather and indirectly by political, social, and economic factors. Cocoa is traded in the contract size of 10 metric tons under the ticker symbol CC or ICE (futures). Price per ton varies based on the country it was grown and the quality of the bean.

History:
The Latin name for cocoa, Theobroma, literally means, “food of the gods,” because of how much they enjoyed it backthen and the important role it played in many South American cultures. In its earliest forms, cocoa was used in Mayan rituals as a beverage that was shared during marriage ceremonies, providing one of the first known links between chocolate and romance.Fast forwarding to the 18thcentury, the introduction of the steam engine mechanized bean grinding brought a great reduction in production costs and made chocolate more affordable to all.Today people all around the world enjoy chocolate in many different forms, consuming more than 3 million tons of cocoa beans annually.

Facts:
Cocoa is grown on small farms ranging from 200 to 500 acres and within 15-20 degrees north and south of the equator. Nearly 70% of the world’s cocoa beans come from four West African countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon.

The cocoa tree itself is a very delicate crop and farmers must protect trees from wind and over-exposure of the sun. Midge flies, the pollinator, could also be affected by the environmental conditions. On top of this, farmersmust fertilize and apply pesticide if they expect the tree to producepods. If all these steps are donecorrectly,the cocoa tree will begin to yield pods by the fifth year.

The growing season in the tropics is continuous and ripe pods may be found on cocoa trees at any given time, however, most countries have two periods a year of peak production. Changes in weather can affect the times of harvest even on the same farm.

Once the beans have been harvested they are put through a fermenting and drying process, lasting three to seven days. The beans are then packed into sacks and ready to be sold to an exporting company. This company ships it off to a manufacturer to convert it into cocoa liquor, which can be further refined, sold as unsweetened baking chocolate, or used in chocolate manufacturing.

Current Trends:
When you think of cocoa you usually associate it with chocolate, looking past the several applications that cocoa can be used for. Cocoa butter, for example, is an extracted vegetable fat that is a great prevention of stretch marks and is useful for hair. Cocoa can also be crushed into a powder and used to enhance the taste of various dishes or incorporated as a component of a cocoa massage in professional high-end spas. Additionally, there’s now evidence to support the development of a cocoa extract as a natural remedy to maintain and promote brain health, especially age-related neuron generative disorders like Alzheimer's.

Needless to say chocolate isn’t the only good thing coming out of a cocoa bean.

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