The Challenge of Chocolate
Chocolate comes from the seeds of the cacao plant. If there were an easy way to cultivate this tropical tree, chocolate-lovers around the world would surely have figured it out by now. But cacao yields around the world are falling because the plant simply doesn't take to large-scale commercial cultivation. The plant's own characteristics are part of the reason, and so is the fact that modern methods disregard many of those very traits.
The Choosy Chocolate Tree
• It requires a very specific habitat. Requiring a narrow temperature range, the cacao tree will only bear fruit within twenty degrees to the north or south of the equator. It prefers well-shaded areas, and also needs year-round moisture and protection from strong winds.
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