Posted by
jrzack on Thursday, August 23, 2007 3:18:27 PM
From: Howstuffworks.com - How chocolate works [http://www.howstuffworks.com/chocolate.htm]
The Cocoa Bean
Chocolate starts with a tree called the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao). This tree grows in equatorial regions, especially in places such as South America, Africa and Indonesia.
The cacao tree produces a fruit about the size of a small pineapple. Inside the fruit are the tree's seeds, also known as cocoa beans.
The beans are fermented for about a week, dried in the sun and then shipped to the chocolate maker.