Definition of cacao tree Cacao tree
We found 2 definitions of cacao tree from 2 different sources.
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What does cacao tree mean?
WordNet
Noun |
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| cacao tree - tropical American tree producing cacao beans | ||
| cacao, chocolate tree, Theobroma cacao | ||
| angiospermous tree, flowering tree any tree having seeds and ovules contained in the ovary | ||
| genus theobroma, theobroma cacao plants | ||
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Wikipedia 
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The Cacao tree is a small tree originally in tropical South America. It is small, and only grows to 4 to 8 metres in height. Its seeds are called cocoa and are used to produce cocoa butter, the chocolate drink, as well as chocolate. Nowadays the trees are grown in plantations in many tropical countries.
Cultivation.
Cacao is planted on over 70000 square kilometres worldwide with 40% of production coming from Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Indonesia. Each country produces about 15%, with smaller amounts coming from Brazil, Nigeria, and Cameroon.
A tree begins to bear fruit when it is 4 or 5 years old. In one year, when mature, it may have 6,000 flowers, but only about 20 pods. About 300-600 seeds (10 pods) are required to produce around 1 kg of cocoa paste.
There are three main cultivar groups of cacao beans used to make cocoa and chocolate. The most prized, rare, and expensive is the Criollo Group, the cocoa bean used by the Maya. Only 10% of chocolate is made from the Criollo, which is less bitter and more aromatic than any other bean. The cacao bean in 80% of chocolate is made using beans of the Forastero Group. Forastero trees are significantly hardier than Criollo trees, resulting in cheaper cacao beans. Trinitario, a hybrid of Criollo and Forastero, is used in about 10% of chocolate. For details of processing, see cocoa.
Cacao beans were commonly used as currency in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. In some areas, such as Yucatán, they were still used in place of small coins as late
