Natural Cocoa Butter

The Theobroma cacao botanical, better known as the Cacao Tree, is indigenous to South America’s Amazon basin where it thrives in the hot, damp, still air characteristic of tropical climates. It can be found growing in the rainforest’s understory layer of vegetation among the shrubs, seedlings, young trees, palms, and vines. The Cacao tree is also often found along rivers. When manually planted and cultivated, it is often restricted to regions with steady rainfall year-round or is planted with other crops like Banana trees, Cassava (Tapioca) trees, or other trees with large leaves that will protect it much like it is protected in the forest by the upper layers of growth, such as the canopy layer. Conversely, Cacao trees are grown in full sun in Malaysia and Indonesia, although they are given shade in the process of establishment. Although the trees can live for up to 100 years, those that are cultivated are considered to be economically productive for approximately 60 years.

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For optimal growth, Cacao trees require a minimum temperature of 18-21°C (64-70°F) and a maximum of 30-32°C (86-90°F). Cacao trees cultivated for commercial production are restricted to regions where the coldest months have an average minimum temperature of 13°C (55°F), as temperatures lower than this, especially on numerous consecutive nights, can potentially lead to reduced yields. It can also cause defoliation, which is the loss of leaves, or dieback, which is when a plant begins to die from the tips of its leaves going inward, due to the unfavorable environmental conditions. Cacao trees are able to grow on a wide range of soil types but prefer moist soils that are well-drained or that have free-draining mixes and that have a pH close to 6.5.

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The Cacao tree can reach a height of up to 20 m. A mature tree grown from a seed has a root system that is comprised of surface lateral roots in the top 20 cm of the soil. As they spread outward horizontally, the roots can form a dense surface feeding “mat” as wide as 5-6 m. Below this layer, the tree has taproots that grow vertically downward to a length of 2 m. This deciduous tree loses its smooth, glossy, oblong, bright green leaves but experiences spurts of new leaf growth 2-4 times per year. When the leaves are still young, they hang vertically and are a flashy shade of red, which makes them less likely to be negatively impacted by damage caused by the intensity of the tropical sun. At the bases of the leaves, there are nodes that change their stiffness according to the temperatures. This allows Cacao leaves to rotate their leaves horizontally as required, in order to get better access to sunlight and to protect other young leaves.

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When grown from seed, Cacao saplings form a single vertical main stem called a “Chupon,” which grows to 1.5 m before spreading into layers forming 3-5 branches that collectively comprise a “Jorquette.” These groups of branches grow outward on an angle, forming a fan shape. Upright Chupons or “Suckers” begin to develop below the Jorquettes, growing upward through the fan branches and forming more coiling arrangements of branches. As the tree develops several layers of Jorquettes, each one sequentially weakens and fades out.

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When the tree is at least 2-3 years of age, thousands of white flowers develop from the “cushions” – small swellings in the wood – found on the main stem and the fan branches. The flowers are pollinated by insects, mainly midges, and occasionally by bats. The Cacao tree has unusual growth in that it has flowers and fruits at the same time. On Cacao plantations, out of 1000 flowers, only 3 are pollinated and fertilized to grow into fruit. Flowers that are not pollinated will die within 24 hours.

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The flowers that are successfully pollinated will form Cacao pods. Due to the high volume of fruit pods produced by the tree – a number so high that it prevents all of the fruits from being carried until maturity – the fruit’s natural thinning mechanism allows young fruits, the “Cherelles,” to stop growing. They begin to blacken and shrivel, a process called Cherelle Wilt; however, they do not fall off the tree. This often makes the tree appear to be diseased, although that may not necessarily be the case. The remaining pods ripen 6 months after pollination but do not fall off the tree either. During the ripening process, most pods change in color from green or deep red to yellow or orange. Some species’ mature pods retain their green color. Often spherical or oblong in shape and with 5-10 longitudinal ridges, the appearance of Cacao pods can be likened to an American football. Cacao beans are further propagated when small mammals such as monkeys break the Cacao pods to eat the fruit pulp, leaving the beans scattered on the ground.

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Cacao pods are harvested manually, sometimes over the course of several months, with some growing regions potentially having pods available for harvest year-round. Pulling the Cacao pods off the trees can potentially result in damage to the flower cushion or the bark, thus the pods are typically cut from the trees with the aid of machetes or knives.