Cocoa is a reddish-brown, chocolate-flavored powder made from the seeds of the cacao tree. Cocoa is also the popular name of a drink made by cooking this powder with milk or water. The Seeds of a Cacao, can also yield a brown liquid called chocolate liquor and fat called cocoa butter. Cocoa butter, is a white or yellowish fat, it constitutes more than 50% of the nibs. In the processing of Cocoa, the nibs are ground and 20% -30% of the cocoa butter is removed by pressure.

Cacao tree is an evergreen, that is originally from American tropics, but is also grows in other warm parts of the world. It produces two annual crops of melon-shaped pods with thick, warty rinds. The pods, which are 6 to 14 inches long and 2 to 3 inches in diameter, grow directly from the trunk and main branches. Inside the pod is a mass of sweetish pulp and five rows of almond-shaped seeds, or beans. There are 5 to 10 beans in each row. Cacao tree is pruned at a height of 15 to 25 feet. Cacao reaches its full bearing when it is about seven years old, and it continue to bear for 30 to 40 years. Despite the similarity of names, the cacao is not related to the cocoa shrub (source of the drug cocaine).

Uses of Cocoa butter: soap making, cosmetics, ointments, foods and drugs.

Nutritional Content of Cocoa Drink: Cocoa drink is a very nutritious beverage, it contains about 21% proteins, 29% fats and nearly 40% carbohydrates. It also contains small amounts of caffeine and theobromine (stimulant similar to caffeine). Cocoa is different from chocolate mainly in containing less fat and in being powdered.

Other Health Benefits of Cocoa:

• Cocoa is rich in polyphenols.
• The fat found in Cocoa Butter is Stearic acid which doesn't affect the cholesterol levels.
• Cocoa Butter when added to beauty products has an ultra moisturising effect.
• Cocoa also contains flavonoids , that helps attack free radicals and it is also good for the heart, by reducing the stickiness of platelets.
• Cocoa can help to reduce tension.

Processing of Cocoa:

• First the pods are removed from the trees, then split open with knife to remove the beans.
• The beans are then fermented for few days to make them easier to clean.
• Then they are washed and dried.
• After the washing and drying, it is then shipped to a factory for further processing, the beans are roasted and broken into particles called nibs. Small fragments are removes by winnowing process.