Chocolate Provenance  Cacao Tree Chocolate begins life as a
plant. It is made from the beans of a small tree called the
cacao (pronounced kah-kow). The cacao tree grows in tropical
rainforest where it gets just the right amount of rain, shade,
humidity, wind and nutrients.  Cocoa Pods  Cacao Pod When the
cacao plant pods are ripe, the farmers cut each pod off using a
machete. Then, cut open the pods and scoop out the cocoa beans.
The beans are piled under banana leaves and left to ferment.
Cocoa Beans  Cacao Beans A week later the beans are a rich dark
brown and taste like bitter chocolate. The beans are laid out on
rooftops, tables or large mats and left to dry in the sun. The
dried beans are then put into big bags and shipped to factories
all over the world. Here they are cleaned, sorted and the shells
are removed. The broken bean bits that are left are called cocoa
nibs.  Cocoa Powder  Cacao Powder The cocoa nibs are made up of
roughly equal amounts of cocoa butter and pure cocoa. The nibs
are ground to a