The cocoa plant was first given its botanical name by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753, who called it Theobroma.
Theobroma in Greek means “food of the gods”
(theo=god and broma=food)
That is exactly what chocolate has been known as for centuries. The Latin name of the genus, Theobroma, meaning the “food of the goods,” reveals the importance given along the history, to the cocoa and to its most known end product, the chocolate.
Theobroma cacao, an evergreen tree that reaches a height of 6–12 m and grows in a limited geographical zone from approximately 20° North to 20° South of the Equator. Theobroma cacao grows best under tropical conditions, with strong light and high humidity.
The cocoa was widely cultivated in the pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, its original Olmec name, kakaw (cacao), diffused around 2000 years ago into lower Central America. The largest producer of cocoa beans in 2018 was Ivory Coast, 2.2 million tons. Cocoa beans are harvested from the Theobroma trees and available in the market after fermentation and drying processes.
Designer and Creative head: Muskaan Gupta
