Cacao (Theobroma cacao) -  The cacao-tree is a small evergreen tree that grows wild in the forests of Central America, and varieties have been found also in Jamaica and other West Indian islands, as well as in South America.  It is cultivated throughout the tropics.  The cacao tree will bloom in its third year, but it does not bear fruit until its fourth or fifth. The flower is small, out of all proportion to the size of the mature fruit. Little clusters of tiny pink and yellow blossoms show in many places along the old wood of the tree, often from the upright trunk itself and within a few inches of the ground.  The flowers are extremely delicate, and a planter will be satisfied if every third or fourth produces fruit.  The fruit, called cacao pod, is ovoid in shape, containing 20-60 seeds, usually called cacao beans.

Of the many varieties of the cacao, the best known are the Criollo, Forastero, and Calabacilla.

History:  Cocoa, “the food of the gods” as it was called many centuries ago, has been used since 1,000 BC.  At the Mexican royal banquets, chocolate was served from golden goblets with finely wrought golden or tortoise-shell spoons.  The froth was of the consistency of honey, so that when eaten cold it would gradually dissolve in the mouth.

Cocoa was regarded by some as a violent inflamer of the passions, which should be prohibited to the monks; however, it was the monks who made cocoa known in France at about 1661.

During the first centuries after cocoa and chocolate was introduced to the English, they were so expensive that only the aristocracy could afford to consume them.  When cocoa became much cheaper, so that also the poor could afford to buy it, the fellow of the Surgical Society of Ireland, Mr. Faussett, wrote in 1877:  "Without presuming to pass any judgment on the many artificial substitutes which, on alleged chemical and scientific principles, have from time to time been pressed forward under the notice of the profession and the public to take the place of mother's milk, I beg to call attention to a very cheap and simple article which is easily procurable--viz., cocoa, and which, when pure and deprived of an excess of fatty matter, may safely be relied on, as cocoa in the natural state abounds in a number of valuable nutritious principles, in fact, in every material necessary for the growth, development, and sustenance of the body."

The first Englishman born in Jamaica, Colonel Montague James, who lived to the age of 104, took scarcely any food but cocoa and chocolate for the last thirty years of his life. For athletes and all who desire the development of the muscular tissues, its use is most beneficial. Professor Cavill, in his celebrated swim from Southampton to Portsmouth, and his nearly successful attempt to swim across the English Channel, considered it to be the most concentrated and sustaining food he could use for that trying test of endurance.

Rich in:  The most important active constituent of cacao is theobromine, a compound somewhat similar to caffeine.  It contains fatty acids; vitamin C, beta carotene, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin; the minerals calcium and phosphorus; the amino acids histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, and theobromine; sugars; polyphenols; alkaloids; flavonoids; caffeine; catechins; and the following acids: acetic, arachidic, cholorogenic, citric, glycolic, gentisic, galacturonic, glutamic, formic, ferulic, maleic, linoleic, nicotinic, nonanoic, octoic, oleic, palimitc, phantothenic, propionic, sinapic, stearic, syringic, tartaric, valerianic, and vanillic.

Interesting fact:  Cocoa is said to yield thirteen times the nutriment of tea and four and half times that of coffee.  As already mentioned above, due to its amazing nutritional value, cocoa has been successfully used as a substitute for mother’s milk.

Internal use:  The cacao bean contains antiseptic, diuretic, emmenagogic, parasiticide, and vulnerary properties.  Cocoa is prepared by grinding the beans into a paste between hot rollers and mixing it with sugar and starch.  Part of the fat is removed.  Chocolate is prepared in much the same way, except the fat is retained.  Cocoa and chocolate (only the bitter chocolate with a high content of pure cacao) are useful when there is an accumulation of fluid in the body resulting from cardiac failure.  It is also beneficial to the muscles, kidneys, and heart and in case of high blood pressure as it helps to dilate the blood-vessels.  Chocolate is a wonderful stimulant, helping to boost the brain activity during long hours of studying or working.  As a folk remedy, cacao has been used for cough, fever, malaria, pregnancy, rheumatism, parturition, wounds, snakebite.

Good to know:  In order to get the most benefits out of cacao, buy chocolate that contains at least 70%  cacao solids.  Milk chocolate contains so many other substances that the benefits of true cacao are lost.  Always select organic chocolate and cocoa.  In order to support the workers of the cacao plantations and cut down the use of child labour, buy fair trade products.

External use:  Cacao butter is a yellowish solid which is used for cosmetic purposes.  It has excellent emollient properties and is therefore used to soften and protect chapped hands and lips.  It is also rubbed into wounds and burns and applied to wrinkles in the hope of correcting them.

From Healing Plants & Healing Promises

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