The Dominican Republic is the place to buy organic chocolate since cacao trees thrive there. This small island is the tenth largest producer of cocoa and the top producer of organic cocoa in the world. Seed pods from the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, produce cacao beans from which cocoa and chocolates are made.

Most cacao farms are only five acres and are often isolated within rainforests. Cacao plants live at an altitude of 100-1,000 feet and need about 39 inches of rainfall annually. Banana, palm or rubber trees are often planted to provide shade and wind protection for the cacao trees, since they have shallow root systems.

The Dominion Republic is the perfect place to learn all about how chocolate is made. The process begins with a cacao seed. The seed, or bean, is dried for about a week. Once the seed has dried, a two-inch hole is dug in a mixture of cow manure and soil and the seed planted.

After ten days, the seed has magically sprouted and is 3-5 inches tall. At this point, the seedling is removed from the soil and its roots are trimmed, leaving just the ends of the roots attached. If the roots are not trimmed, they search for water and produce a second cacao tree that takes nutrients away from the primary tree, causing it to not develop fruit.

Once the roots are trimmed, the seedling is replanted and left to grow into a mature cacao tree. After about four years, the mature tree is around 20 feet tall and ready to produce fruit. To harvest fruit sooner, growers often graft a branch of a mature cacao tree to a young tree.

The fruit are elongated pods that range in colors of yellow, orange, purple, and red. It takes six months for the fruit to ripen, with each fruit holding 20-60 cacao beans. The beans are harvested twice a year, with the seed pods cut from the trees and split open with machetes. The beans are removed from the pods and piled in leaf-lined holes dug in the ground or in shallow boxes that have holes drilled in the bottom of the boxes to provide drainage. The beans are left to ferment for a week.

Once fermented, the beans are sun dried, or dried in a kiln, to reduce moisture. They are then bagged and sent to factories where they are roasted. At this point, the beans are husked and ground to make a thick paste called chocolate liquor. This is the basis for all chocolate products.
A variety of chocolates are made from chocolate liquor: Dutch chocolate, dark chocolate, sweet chocolate, baking chocolate, white milk chocolate, and cocoa powder. It takes about 400 cacao beans to make one pound of chocolate.

Nothing goes to waste, and the shells of the cacao beans are ground and used as fertilizer or mulch.

My recent visit to the Dominion Republic offered me the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the island and to learn all about cacao farming.

By Kelyee Ledesma
Kelyee is a master gardener and has a blog and website at zbestgarden.com.

Photo 1 Kelyee Ledesma

In the rainforests of the Dominican Republic, cacao trees are grown, and the cacao pods harvested and processed to make a variety of chocolate products.

Photo 2 Wikimedia

Cacao pods come in a rainbow of colors, from yellow and orange to purple.

Photo 3 Caribbean Tourism

A cacao seed pod holds up to 60 cacao beans that are processed to make chocolate.

Photo 4 Caribbean Tourism

Small cacao farms grow cacao trees and harvest their pods .

Photo 5 Zorzal Cacao

Cacao pods are split open and the beans removed in preparation for fermentation.