Cacau

It was assumed that cultivation of cacao (Theobroma cacao L) had originated in Mesoamerica, specifically with the Maya civilization, cacao native served as barter item and was more precious and had more value than gold to the indigenous. The cocoa native was cultivated by the Mayas over 2500 years ago.

In 2013 it was confirmed that the origin of cocoa is Peruvian. Its place of origin is between Montegrande and San Isidro, province of Jaén, Chinchipe basin, Cajamarca, Peru River. The archaeologist and historian Quirino Olivera Núñez found evidence of plants domestication that gave it an age older than 5,200 years, the oldest cocoa in America and the world.    It is assumed that the natural path of its departure from the warm forests of Mexico have been through Ecuador. Archaeological findings from the high Amazon, where it remained unpublished for more than five millennia, it deserves to be considered among the ten most important discoveries in the world of Archaeology Forum 2013, held enShangai, China.

The Peru owns 60% of the varieties of cocoa in the world and is the second largest producer of organic cocoa. Peru has been described by the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) a country which produces and exports a fine flavored cocoa native, and is achieving 36% of world production of this type.

Cacao varieties

• Cacao Criollo or native: it is the oldest and comes from Peru and Ecuador.
• Cacao Stranger(forastero): is the most abundant, accounting for 90% of world production
• Cacao Trinity: Originated from the island of Trinidad, it’s a natural biological hybrid, crossing the criollo and the stranger.