Chocolate grows on trees
Well, not quite the chocolate we are used to eating, but the plant from which it is made. Cocoa beans grow in pods on trees in the tropics surrounding the equator. Cocoa beans are imported from different countries, originally from South and Central America and Southeast Asia. That is why cocoa beans are divided into three categories according to their origin: African, American, and Asian. Thus, the correct answer to the question of which country is the origin of chocolate should be said that it is the Dominican Republic and Peru.
The chocolate factories
However, it all depends on the chocolate manufacturer. Because many factories use cocoa beans from other countries for their chocolates, the answer to the question of where does chocolate comes from will be Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Brazil, and Ecuador. It is estimated that about 70% of the world’s cocoa beans come from West Africa, so this is another origin of chocolate.
Chocolate history
In general, chocolate has its own story. For centuries, the Maya and later the Aztecs mixed ground and roasted cocoa beans with water and then added bitter pepper to this mixture. The result was a bitter, spicy high-fat frothy drink, which was drunk cold, so those civilizations were also part of the chocolate origin.
The process of making the chocolate
After ripening, the beans are cut, the grains are removed from the fruit, and the thick shell covers the entire grain is cleaned. The first stage begins, from which the whole process of preparation for the production of chocolate begins – the refined grains are put into special wooden boxes with air holes and stored for eight days. As a result of this process, the specific chocolate flavor of the beans is enhanced. Then the grains are dried, packed in bags, and sent to chocolate factories. The cocoa beans are sorted by size, as the chemical composition differs in different-sized beans.
The method of processing cocoa beans into chocolate differs in different countries because, in some countries, the production of chocolate is one of the main sectors of the economy if it is an agricultural country. Other countries already make chocolate in factories, so they often buy cocoa beans in other countries, mostly small and poor.
In conclusion, it is correct to say that the chocolate country of origin is Central and South America. However, the rest of the countries we have listed are also the correct answer, so it is worth remembering that the most important thing in chocolate is not the country of origin of the cocoa beans from which this product is made, but rather the quality of the chocolate itself, which already depends on dozens of others factors such as the quality of these grains, the method of roasting, food additives used by the manufacturer, and much more. So choose chocolate wisely and enjoy it with pleasure!