Farmers spend a lot of time nurturing these trees before yields are possible.
Each tree takes about four to five years before they are ready to yield cacao pods. This means that farmers must continuously nurture the tree to maturity before they are profitable.
Hot chocolate is the original treat.
The very first treat to contain chocolate was the beverage hot chocolate. It was only available to royalty as it was a very rare and highly exalted delicacy. Once machines were created to produce chocolate on a wider scale, treats and candies made with chocolate were more readily available to the masses.
West Africa produces the most chocolate in the world.
West Africa, or the Ivory Coast, is responsible for 70% of the world’s supply of chocolate. There is a specific taste to chocolate that is produced on the Ivory Coast. It has a muted flavor, that is great for commercial use in coating candy bars.
