Can we grow chocolate beans in North Carolina?

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Question Can we grow chocolate beans in North Carolina?

Answer I wish. Chocolate beans grow on chocolate trees. While farmers are always open to new crops, chocolate trees won’t be an option for NC in the near future.

The Aztecs took beans from the "cacao" tree and made a drink they called "cacahuatl," which meant warm or bitter liquid. Aztec Indian legend said cocoa beans had been brought from Paradise. Wisdom and power were gained from eating the fruit of the cacao tree. In reality, the Aztecs got the cacao (cocoa) beans from the Mayans. The Mayan cacao tree plantations must have seemed like paradise to the Aztecs. It sure sounds like paradise to me.

If we believe Mexican mythology, "chocolate was consumed by the Gods in Paradise, and the seed of cocoa was conveyed to man as a special blessing by the God of the Air." For this I feel compelled to say, gracias.

Scientifically speaking, chocolate is derived from cocoa beans. These beans grow in pods on the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao (http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~khh6430/cacao.html). This small tree grows to about 15 to 25 feet tall. Most chocolate trees are grown 10° north or south of the equator, well out of the range for North Carolina. They like heat, but they do not like cold, wind or drought. Enough said. They are often inter-planted with rubber, banana, oil palm and coconut trees. So you can eliminate these other trees from the list of potential new crops as well.

Cocoa and cocoa butter also come from the cocoa beans. Cocoa is prepared by grinding the beans into a paste while removing part of the fat. Chocolate is prepared the same way, but the fat is retained. Cocoa butter or theobroma oil is extracted from the beans and used as an ingredient in white chocolate, cosmetic ointments and coatings for pills. It has excellent emollient properties and is used to soften and protect chapped hands and lips.

Theobromine, the alkaloid contained in the beans, resembles caffeine in its action, but its effect on the central nervous system is less powerful. Its action on muscle, kidney and heart function is more pronounced. Health can be added to the Aztec list of benefits from eating cocoa beans.

We may not able to grow it, but we can sure eat it. For more info about the healing effects of chocolate (theobromines), visit http://www.phytochemicals.info/phytochemicals/theobromine.php. If you do not have internet access, then contact me at 910-893-7533 or gpierce@harnett.org.

The Aztecs used chocolate beans as a form or currency for small transactions. This form of payment is still used in some parts of Mexico today. As a matter of fact, this form of payment works well in my office. If I’m ever homeless, my sign will read, “will work for chocolate.”

Gary L. Pierce

Horticulture Extension Agent

Harnett County