Source · farm

Tabasco cocoa farm

Comalcalco, Tabasco, MX

Placeholder farm entry — Mesoamerica is the original home of *Theobroma cacao*. Tabasco and Chiapas in Mexico still grow heirloom *criollo* — the bean varieties the Maya and Aztec cultivated, with floral aromatics that the more disease-resistant West African *forastero* lacks. Mexican drinking chocolate (Ibarra, Abuelita) is built on these beans, ground with sugar and Ceylon cinnamon.

The origin of every chocolate in the world is a forest in this region. The Maya cultivated kakaw — the loanword that became Spanish cacao and English cocoa — and used it as currency, drink, and ritual food. The descent from Maya kakawa drink to mole and to every chocolate bar on every supermarket shelf is direct.