Dominican Republic Cacao

Cacao/ Cocoa

Cacao is the cocoa we all know and love. It can be served hot, cold or made into wonderful sweet goodies and even liquors. Almost everyone loves chocolate in some form or another.

A woman proudly showing a Cacao/ Cocoa fruit in Dominican Republic.
A woman proudly showing a Cacao/ Cocoa fruit in Dominican Republic.

Buy Dominican Republic chocolate at Amazon. Dark, organic, vegan, powdered and more all made with Dominican Republic cacao
 
Cacao is a tall tropical tree that can reach 4 to 12 meters tall. The cacao tree produces an average of 150 fruits every year. These fruits are long oval pods called cacao pods. The pod color varies from yellow to orange.

Green and ripe yellow cacao pods on a tree in Salcedo, Dominican Republic.
Green and ripe yellow cacao pods on a tree in Salcedo, Dominican Republic.


 
Inside this pod are an average of about thirty cocoa beans. A white glutinous pulp covers each bean. The pulp is quite tasty when you pop it into your mouth and suck on it.

The cacao bean is surrounded by a white pulp that is sweet.
The cacao bean is surrounded by a white pulp that is sweet.


 
During the first drying, the entire seed with pulp is placed in the sun to dry. When dry the white pulp can easily be removed. The second drying is to dry the seed itself.

You can see these beans drying in many places in the country, even along country streets. The beans are laid out on tarpaulins or in large covered beds. They are constantly being moved to get them to dry. As the beans dry they are being picked over to clear out the inferior beans.

Cacao beans being dried.
Cacao beans being dried.

The dry beans are then cleaned, roasted and crushed into a powder. When you pass by cacao drying you can get the wonderful sent of the aromatic bean drying in the sun. With each step of the drying process, the smell gets more intense.

Dominican Republic is the perfect place for the cultivation and development of cacao because of the rich, fertile soil and the favorable climate. Individual farmers and large corporations grow cacao trees alike. The best cocoa beans in the country are grown in the Cibao Valley, San Francisco de Macoris, and Santiago. Dominican Republic produces two types of cocoa beans, the Hispaniola (about 4% production) and the Sanchez (about 96% production) varieties.

A cacao tree
A cacao tree


 

Cocoa Nutrition

Cocoa beans/ Cacao is a very nutrient rich and complex food. Cacao is considered by some experts to be the best antioxidant food, having the highest source of magnesium of any food. Chocolate contains A1, B1, C, D, E vitamins and iron. The cacao beans are also used to produce cocoa butter that is used in many cosmetic applications. The Aztecs considered the cacao tree as a paradise tree.

A basket of ripe Dominican cacao in the market
A basket of ripe Dominican cacao in the market

The Dominican Republic is currently one of the chief producers of organic cocoa in the world when they started marketing their product as early as the 1980’s.

Vino de Cacao / Chocolate Wine is an organic chocolate wine produced in Dominican Republic.
Vino de Cacao / Chocolate Wine is an organic chocolate wine produced in Dominican Republic.

Buy Dominican Republic chocolate at Amazon. Dark, organic, vegan, powdered and more all made with Dominican Republic cacao
 

Museum and Tours

There is a Museo de Cacao on Calle el Conde and also on Calle Arz. Meriño in the Colonial Zone. They sell many different products made in Dominican Republic (including the Vino de Cacao pictured above)

Dominican Republic chocolate tours.

Take the Cacao Museum Chocolate Tour – Kah Kow Experience in the Colonial Zone, Santo Domingo. More about the Museum Kah Kow Experience in the Colonial Zone.

You can tour a Cacao farm
Cacao Plantation and Chocolate Factory Tour with Tasting of Chocolate (3 hour tour) by Viator.

Cacao Plantation and Chocolate Factory Tour (2 hour tour) by Viator

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