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On this occasion we will talk to you about the true origin of cocoa. It was previously believed that the origin of cocoa had been in Central America, more precisely Mexico, where the Mayans considered it as a product foreign to the gods, used it in rituals, in drinks and even used it as a currency; although more recent investigations link the Mayo-Chinchipe tribe as the first tribe that had domesticated this plant to the west of the Amazon basin, time before it appeared in Central America; Once the international investigation was completed, it was published by (Nature Ecology & Evolution) which detected traces of cocoa in archaeological remains of more than 5,000 years in South America, this being the true origin of cocoa.

Until now, the oldest evidence of the use of cocoa was estimated to be more than 3,900 years ago, found in Mexico, which is why Central America was considered the origin of cocoa. However, more recent studies found remains of cocoa trees and commonly used vessels in pieces. of ceramics and different artifacts, from more than 2,100 years ago. According to a team of scientists from the University of Calgary (Canada), the University of California at Davis (United States) and the Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (Cirad) in Montpellier (France), explored a site in Santa Ana-La Florida in Ecuador, where sufficient evidence was found to determine the true origin of cocoa in South America more than 5,000 years ago. The Mayo-Chinchipe tribe settled, for which its settlement is estimated long before the arrival of the Europeans in America; the oldest archaeological remains date back at least 5,450 years.

There are 3 types of cocoa, forastero cocoa, trinitario cocoa and the most outstanding for its flavor and aroma is Criollo cocoa. Colombia is fortunate to produce native Criollo cocoa in different regions of the country such as: Amazonas, Santander, Tumaco, Arauca and others; that provide cocoa to industries such as F&M Chocolates to develop products with a fine flavor and aroma for their main customers such as pastries, bakeries, companies and industries, satisfying the most demanding temperatures, uses and palates in Colombia and the world”.

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