Cocoa Beans

Cocoa beans are the seeds of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), almond-shaped and covered in a sweet, sticky pulp when fresh. Harvested from pods that grow on the trees trunk and branches, these beans are the raw ingredient for chocolate, with their rich, complex flavor developing through a process of fermentation, drying, and roasting. Each bean contains valuable components like cocoa butter (fat), cocoa solids, protein, and minerals, making them a highly energetic and nutritious food source with a variety of uses beyond chocolate, including in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals