b'BREEDING HISTORY / COCOAExploring the innovations and breakthroughs of breeding throughout generations of plants.3,000Years Ago 1500-400 BC 1492 1765 1850THE OLMEC CULTURE INTHE OLMECS ARETHE SPANISHCHOCOLATESOLID CHOCOLATE HIT CENTRAL AMERICA HADBELIEVED TO BE THECONQUISTADORSPRODUCTIONTHE MARKET AND RECORDS OF COCOAEARLIEST PEOPLE TOARRIVED IN THE NEWCOMMENCED IN THEFOUND WILD SUCCESS USAGE, WHICH THRIVEDENJOY A BEVERAGE MADEWORLD ANDAMERICAN COLONIESDUE TO THE DISCOVERY AND SPREADFROM GROUND CACAODISCOVERED THEAT DORCHESTER,BY JOSEPH FRY THAT SIGNIFICANTLY ACROSSBEANS MIXED WITHVALUE OF THE LOCALMASSACHUSETTS,ADDING CACAO BUTTER GUATEMALA, HONDURASWATER AND ENHANCEDCACAO CROP. UTILIZING COCOATO THE COCOA AND NICARAGUA. WITH SPICES, BERRIESBEANS SOURCED FROMPOWDER FORMED A AND HERBS. THE WEST INDIES. SOLID MASS.ORIGINNew research shows that domesticationstarted in South America, not CentralAmerica as previously thought.The cocoa bean is the seed of thecacao tree ( Theobroma cacao),a tropical plant native to theequatorial regions of the Americas.4.5+MILLION TONS IS THE CURRENT ANNUALGLOBAL CONSUMPTION OF COCOA BEANS, FINDING ITS WAY INTO A VARIETY OF PRODUCTS, RANGING FROM BEVERAGES TO CANDY BARS.After his fourth voyage in 1502, Christopher Columbus brought cocoa beans to Spain. Upon arriving in Mexico in 1519, the Spanish conquistadores were introduced to a chocolate beverage by the Aztecs.COCOA, A DENSELY CONCENTRATED FOOD OFFERING AROUND 1,000 caloriesper kilogram, SUPPLIES CARBOHYDRATES, FAT, PROTEIN AND MINERALS.Sources: World of Cocoa Foundation, National Library of Medicine, Britannica, UNESCO, National Geographic54/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2024'