TROPICAL TASTE - Growing my own Chocolate Tree

 Growing my own Chocolate Tree!

How would you like having your own chocolate tree growing in your yard? It would be pretty cool, eh?  Well, guess what?  We have one!

Photo: Cacao tree and blooms - the blooms develop right on the trunk

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the Cacao Tree (Theobroma Cacao).  There are several varieties of cacao trees: Criollo, Forastero, Trinitario and Nacional.  Of those four, all but the last one can be found growing on Hawaii Island, also known as the Big Island.

Photo: Small Cacao Pod - not all blooms develop into pods

Like coffee, cacao trees are grown in a region bordered by both the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer, a region that spreads 20o degrees north and south of the Equator.  This includes the countries of (in alpha order) Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Haiti, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Sao Thomé, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Togo, Trinidad, Venezuela, and Zaire and now you can add the State of Hawaii to the list.

Photo: larger Cacao Pod - we think ours is a Forastero Cacao Tree

To date, Hawaii is the only State in the Union growing cacao.  Of the varieties growing in Hawaii, Criollo is the most desirable even though the yield of seeds might be lower than other varieties, the beans are of very high quality.  The Criollo originated in Mexico and Central America.

 Photo: Maturing Cacao Pod - ready to harvest

The Forastero is the most widely planted and harvested producing about 80% of the world's chocolate.  We think ours is a Forastero, but are not sure.

The Trinitario is a cross between the Criollo and the Forastero, it is also quite desirable as it inherited the stronger taste and aroma of the Criollo and the productivity and resistance to disease from the Forastero.

Photo: Mature Cacao Pod - the beans still covered in their musilage

The mayority of the chocolate availabe for candy bars and for baking are actually from mixes of beans from different varieties of cacao trees, but you can also find cacao beans grown exclusively from one region or one variety of tree, like the Criollo which will produce a higher quality of specialty chocolates which can command a higher price in the market.

Most cocoa trees like to grow as a secondary canopy, or in the shade of taller trees.  Ours is nestled on the side of our house and protected by other tropical growth.  We have had only 1 pod from our tree so far, but other little pods are beginnig to show.  The blooms develop right on the branches and trunk of the tree and the pods develop from those blooms.

Photo: The Cacao Beans - after fermenting and dried

A friend is growing quite a bit of cacao and already making chocolate nibs.  I have a standing invitation to come by one day when he is working with the beans to turn them into nibs.  We will also learn together how to "conch it". 

To "Conch" chocolate is to go through a process to take out as much moisture as possible, it will also reduce acids and make it 'pliable'.  This step is essential as it is the one that develops the best flavor, texture and quality of the chocolate.  The term conching comes from the Spanish concha, or seashell.  The original conching units looked like seashells, but now can be round or horizontal, depending on the manufacturer.

During conching, the chocolate has to be heated to temperatures of 130o to 200o Degrees Farenheit. The bitterness of the original chocolate slowly disappears with the to and fro movement during conching and the flavor we associate with chocolate slowy develops.

I have saved the beans I've collected until I have enough to roast them and turn them into chocolate.

Stay tuned for further developments down the road!

If you're interested in knowing more about cacao trees, beans and chocolate, the following are some very interesting books to read

The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes by Maricel Presilla.

The Chocolate Tree: A Natural History of Cacao, Revised and Expanded Edition by Allen M. Young

The Generic Diversity of Cacao and Its Utilization by B. G. D. Bartley

		Sonia Martinez, Gather Food Correspondent
	Sonia's column, 'Tropical Taste' is a regular twice-monthly feature of Gather Essentials: Food. Sonia is a cookbook author and freelance food writer for several publications in Hawaii, and is also a Hawaii Island Journal restaurant reviewer in partnership with her son Anthony Mathis.  She lives in a beautiful rural rainforest area on the Big Island of Hawaii. You can keep up with Sonia's adventures and ongoing love affair with Hawaii by joining her network, or visiting her food & garden blog at Sonia Tastes Hawaii.