What Is It?

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• It takes 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate.

• Each cacao tree produces approximately 2,500 beans.

• Research to date supports that chocolate can be enjoyed as part of a balanced, heart-healthy diet and lifestyle.

• The average serving of milk chocolate has about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of decaf coffee.

• Because cacao trees are so delicate, farmers lose, on average, 30 percent of their crop each year.

• Studies have demonstrated that one of the major saturated fats in chocolate does not raise cholesterol like other hard fats–meaning chocolate can be enjoyed in moderation.

• Chocolate comes from a fruit tree; it’s made from a seed.

• Theobroma Cacao is the tree that produces cocoa beans, and it means “food of the gods.” Carolus Linnaeus, the father of plant taxonomy, named it.

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Where Is It From?

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• There are an estimated 1.5 million cocoa farms in West Africa.

• Most cocoa–70 percent–hails from West Africa.

• Cocoa is raised by hand, on small, family-owned farms.

• Cacao leaves can move 90 degrees, from horizontal to vertical, to get sun and to protect younger leaves.

• Some cacao trees are more than 200 years old, but most give marketable cocoa beans for only the first 25 years.

• The average size of a cocoa farm in West Africa is 7 to 10 acres.

• Rudolph Lindt designed the first conching machine, its bed curved like a conch shell.

• Cote d’Ivoire is the single largest producer of cocoa, providing roughly 40 percent of the world’s supply.

• Through some programs supported by industry and partners including foundations and governments, farmers are now earning between 20 percent and 55 percent more from their crops.

• Most cocoa farms are not owned by the companies that make chocolate.

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Who Depends On It?

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• Benjamin Franklin sold chocolate in his print shop in Philadelphia.

• The price of cocoa can fluctuate daily–affecting farmers’ incomes.

• Cacao beans were so valuable to early Mesoamericans that they were used as currency.

• The average West African cocoa family has eight members.

• An Indonesian cocoa farming community built a giant statue of hands holding a cocoa pod.

• In addition to tending cacao trees, family members may harvest bananas or other fruit crops.

• The ancients also fermented the pulp of the cacao pod to make other beverages.

• In November, Germans celebrate St. Martin–a knight who shared his cloak with a beggar–with a lantern-lit parade, sweets and steaming hot chocolate. 

• Worldwide, 40 million to 50 million people depend upon cocoa for their livelihood.

• Spanish royalty gave cakes of cacao in their dowries.

• The Aztec emperor Montezuma drank 50 cups of cacao a day from a golden chalice.

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Savor It

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• It takes two to four days to make a single-serving chocolate bar.

• Chocolate contains two doses of cocoa butter—the natural amount from the bean, plus an extra dollop to bump up creaminess.

• Cacao percentage determines the amount of cocoa bean products by weight in a chocolate.

• “Cacao” is how you say “cocoa” in Spanish.

• Champagne and sparkling wines are too acidic to pair well with milk or dark chocolate. Try pairing a sweet bubbly with white chocolate and red wine with dark. In general you want to match the sweetness level of the wine with the sweetness level of the chocolate.

• Some cocoa certification programs are modeled on success with a similar product–coffee.

• Chocolate can make dogs and cats ill–meaning no tastings for your furry friend, and more for you.

• A farmer must wait four to five years for a cacao tree to produce its first beans.

• German chocolate cake was named for Sam German, who developed a sweet bar for Baker’s Chocolate–and was not from Germany.

• The French celebrate April Fool’s Day with chocolate-shaped fish, or “Poisson d’Avril.”