Cocoa is the dried and fermented seed of Theobroma cacao from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter can be extracted.
Cocoa is the basis of chocolate, and Mesoamerican foods.
Cocoa was first domesticated 5,300 years ago in South America. More than 4,000 years ago cocoa has been consumed by many pre-Hispanic cultures such as the Maya.
Cocoa trees grow in a limited area near the equator, with nearly 70% of the worlds cocoa crop being grown in West Africa
