Cocoa tree

Native to the humid tropical forests of Central America, the cocoa tree, also known as “food of the gods,” was sacred to the Aztecs and Mayans. The tree's fruit, cocoa pods, contain a wealth of precious seeds known as cocoa beans. Producing chocolate from these beans is a long and complicated process. Once dried, the beans become a cocoa paste which contains cocoa butter and dry cocoa solids used for creating cocoa powder.