“Our cacao tree flowers from about April until August, September, sometime around there — we have a long flowering window — and then it takes the pods probably about three or four months to ripe ...

but consuming the fleshy fruit surrounding raw cacao seeds isn't a common practice. Cacao fruits are grown on the Theobroma ...

Theobroma cacao is the name given to the seed of cacao trees. And the main active alkaloid found within these seeds is theobromine, which is thought to be nutritionally powerful.

"It highlights the importance of protecting this habitat." It is thought that seedlings or seeds of the cocoa tree were carried north into Mexico and Central America, perhaps along sea routes.

"The trick was in sowing the seeds," he realised. Today Mr Matthews has 6,000 cocoa trees on his 50 acres of land. "I think it was the best decision I have made," he says. Despite having several ...

The fruit of the cocoa tree is a pod full of sweet pulp enfolding a cluster of about 20 to 40 cocoa seeds. Cocoa takes about two and a half years to mature and gives two harvests in a year.