Cacao powder (Raw, Criollo Variety, Organic) - Theobroma cacao

Botanical name: Theobroma cacao

Other names: Chocolate

Family: Sterculiacaea; Byttnerieae Tribe

Distribution: Wild: Mexico. Grown: Tropical rainforest of the Americas, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Origin : Peru

The cacao tree was cultivated in Central America some four thousand years ago. There, it was venerated as a food of the gods. Linnaeus took this fact into consideration when he named the tropical plant Theobroma cacao. Theobroma means “gods” food, and cacao is a word borrowed from the Mayan language that refers to the tree, its fruit, and the drink prepared from the fruit. The word chocolate is derived from the Aztec xocolatl, a name for the beverage. Solid chocolate appears to have been a Swiss invention.

The Aztec held cacao beans in high regard. They used them as food, stimulants, medicine, and even currency (especially for paying prostitutes). They were revered as a food of the gods. The effects of cacao were described in the Aztec-language texts of Bernardino de Sahagun.

The conquistador Hernàn Cortés brought the first cacao beans to Europe, where they were initially used almost exclusively in the production of love drinks. The first book about cacao, titled Libro en el cual se trata del chocolate, was published in New Spain (Mexico) in 1609. In 1639, a book appeared in Europe in which it was claimed that the sea god Neptune had brought chocolate from the New World to Europe. Today, cocoa for drinking and the various kinds of chocolate are among the most commonly consumed foods and/or agents of pleasure in the world.

In the 17th and 18th century, a succolade made from powdered cacao beans, sugar, and wine was drunk in Germany, sometimes heavily fortified with cardamom and saffron. At the beginning of the 20th century, invigorating drinks made of cacao and Catha Eludis were made on London and sold as Catha-cocoa Milk. Preparations of cacao and cola or coffea Arabica are now popular.

Our Cacao

Our Cacao is higher quality because it's freshly harvested by knowledgeable family farmers, as well as it's stored in the cold and dark. It contains a high content of essential oils.

Our Cacao is ethically harvested by local family farmers.

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Our products are of the highest quality but they have not been certified by the FDA neither Health Canada for human consumption. Therefore, we have to specify that they cannot be sold for human consumption. They are sold for incense and soap making purposes, decorative purposes and/or legitimate ethnobotanical research. The information given about the plants is for academic purposes only and not intended to be used medically. TrancePlants, its suppliers, agents, employees and distributors cannot be held accountable for any misuse of the products offered.