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The Cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) is a small (4.5-7.5 m), evergreen tree in the Family Sterculiaceae , native to South America and Central America, but now cultivated throughout the tropics. Its seeds are used to make cocoa and chocolate.

The tree grows naturally at elevations of around 1,000 ft (300 m), requiring a humid climate with regular rainfall and good soil. The seeds, usually called "beans", come in a large fruit called a cacao pod that grows directly from the stem of the tree, is ovoid, 15-30 cm long, and 8-10 cm wide. The pod contains 20 to 60 seeds in a white pulp. Some 300 seeds produce around 1 kg of cocoa paste. Each seed contains a significant amount of fat (40-50% as cacao butter). Their most important active constituent is TheobromineTheobromine is an alkaloid of the methylxanthine family, which also includes the similar compounds theophylline and caffeine. It is known to induce mutations in bacteria and lower eukaryotes, but does not seem to cause mutations in higher eukaryotes, such, a compound somewhat similar to CaffeineCaffeine is an alkaloid found naturally in such foods as coffee beans, tea, kola nuts, Yerba mate, guarana, and (in small amounts) cacao beans. It is added to some soft drinks such as colas and Mountain Dew. Caffeine has a characteristic intensely bitter.

There are three types of cacao beans used in chocolates. The most prized, rare, and expensive is the Criollo, the bean of the MayaThe word Maya or maya can refer to: the Maya a native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America the modern Maya people the pre-Columbian Maya civilization the Maya language Maya a concept in Hindu/ Vedic philosophy a state of misperc. Only 10% of chocolate is made from the Criollo, which is less bitter and more aromatic than any other bean. The cacao bean in 80% of chocolate is the Forastero. Forastero trees are significantly hardier than Criollo trees, resulting in cheaper cacao beans. Trinatario, a hybrid of Criollo and Forastero, is used in about 10% of chocolate.

Cacao beans were commonly used as currencyFor exchange rates, see here. A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of goods and services. It is a form of money, where money is defined as a medium of exchange rather than e. a store of value. A currency zone is a country or region in Pre-ColumbianThe term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. While technically referring to the era before Christopher Columbus, in practice the term usually includes indigenous cultures as the MesoamericaMesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south through the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European. In some areas, such as YucatánThe Yucatan Peninsula Yucatan is a peninsula which separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. The peninsula is divided among part of Mexico (the Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatan), the nation of Belize and Guatemala's norther, they were still used in place of small coins as late as the 1840sEvents and Trends First signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) on February 6, 1840 at Waitangi New Zealand. The treaty between the British Crown and Maori made New Zealand a British colony and is considered the founding point of modern N.

The English word cacao probably comes from the Yucatec Maya word cacau. The scientific name Theobroma means "divine food" in Greek.