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Chocolate Trees
-At maturity a cultivated cacao tree measures 15 to 25 feet
tall, but a wild tree may reach 60 feet or more.
-Some cacao trees are known to be over 200 years old —
but in 25 years the economic usefulness is at an end.
-Cacao trees don’t bear fruit (cocoa beans) until the fifth
year
of growth and the tree is an evergreen.
-The fruits of the cacao tree are very colorful from bright
red,
lemon yellow, golden, pale green or a combination
of all these
colors.
-Approximately 400 beans are required to make one pound
of chocolate.
-Steps in processing cacao seeds include: cleaning, roasting,
hulling, blending and
grinding.
-Cocoa powder is made by removing some cocoa butter, eating
chocolate is made by adding cocoa butter.
-Great chocolate manufacturers choose their beans in the
same
way as a wine maker chooses their grape varieties.
-Chocolate liquor does not refer to alcohol, it simply means liquid.
