Historically Cacao is one of the most important cash crops in the world.  At times it was valued so much that it was used as a currency by itself.

The Cacao Tree originates from the Amazone basin, which now is Brazil, and evidence shows that humans were consuming the plant over 5,000 years ago.  From there the Cacao Tree was introduced to Central America, Mexico, and Guatemala, by the Olmecs a few hundred years later, and 4,000 years ago it was being consumed by pre-Hispanic cultures in religious ceremonies.     

In addition to using cacao in rituals, the Mayans used the cocoa bean, the seed of the cacao tree, as a currency.  The value of goods and services would be measured in the number of beans, and counterfeit painted beans were a problem.

Cacao was introduced to Spain by Christopher Columbus after his 4^th voyage in 1502.  It was first consumed in Spain in the traditional manners of the Olmec people, that is whipping the chocolate into a foam that melted in your mouth.  However, the natural flavor of the cacao was too bitter for the Spaniards, and sugar was added to make it more agreeable.

From Spain, cacao spread to the neighboring countries but was a luxury only available to reach people.  That changed in 1828 when Coenraad van Houten, a Dutch chemist, found a way to make powdered chocolate that was easier to mix with water.

A Swedish scientist classified three varieties of cacao in 1753, and those are the main varieties but multiple strains exist of each.  Let’s take a look at the characteristics of each:

• Forastero is the most common variety grown, making up about 80% of all cocoa production in the world.  It is hardier than the other varieties and easier to grow.  It has a higher resistance to diseases and has higher yield.   At the same time, it is cheaper and is not considered of the same quality as the others.
• Trinitario is a natural hybrid of Criollo and Forastero and has some of the best characteristics of both.  The variety came about on the island of Trinidad, where Criollo had been grown until a storm destroyed all crops in 1727.  The plantation was replanted with Forastero but cross-pollination did occur and Trinitario was born.
• Criollo is the most expensive variety and is considered to have the highest quality.  It is used by chocolatiers for high-quality chocolate with fine flavors.  It has a lower yield than the other varieties and is less than 1% of total world production. 
• National is the rearrest variety and only discovered in 2011 in Peru.  It is regarded as high-quality reach creamy flavored beans.

Cocoa bean production has been increasing year by year since 1960 and is expected to continue rising, due to ever-increasing demand.  Of course, the growth has not been linear, but on average the tendency has been up with total production of around 1 million metric tons in 1960, depending on the source, to around 5 million metric tons in 2022. 

Africa is, by far, the biggest producer of cacao in the world with, West Africa producing over 80% of the world’s crop, therefrom, the Ivory Coast alone produces approximately 30% of world production, by far the biggest producer, with Ghana in second place.

While over 80% of the beans are grown in Africa, only 21% of the grinding of the beans takes place on the continent, meaning, there is a huge opportunity to develop industries around cocoa production.

In Sierra Leone, I came across a young Cacao farmer, Momoh Lahai. He is located in Kissi Tongi Chiefdom, Kailahun District, Eastern province of Sierra Leone.  Momoh Lahai has about 25 hectares of land, 15 of which are dedicated to Cacao. 

Momoh Lahai harvests cacao twice per year.  The first harvest takes place between September and October, and the second from December to January.

Momoh Lahai has been cultivating cacao for 6 years, and in our next post with him, we will be discussing the cultivation of the Cacao Tree, the harvesting of the beans, and the processes the beans must go through to be made into chocolate.

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