Theobroma cacao beans, along with other agricultural products, were brought back to Spain at that time, but it seems the beverage made from cacao was introduced to the Spanish court in 1544 by Kekchi Maya nobles brought from the New World to Spain by Dominican friars to meet Prince Philip. Within a century, chocolate had spread to France, England and elsewhere in Western Europe. Demand for this beverage led the French to establish cacao plantations in the Caribbean, while Spain subsequently developed their cacao plantations in their Venezuelan and Philippine colonies (Bloom 1998, Coe 1996). A painting by Dutch Golden Age artist
Theobroma cacao cacao" through a process of steps that involve harvesting, fermenting of "T. cacao" pulp, drying, harvesting, and then extraction. Roasting "T. cacao" by using superheated steam was found to be better than conventional roasting (use of ovens) because it resulted in same quality of cocoa beans in a shorter amount of time. In 2016, world production was 4.5 million tonnes, led by Ivory Coast with 33% of global production and Ghana with 19% of the total (table).. The pests and diseases to which cacao is subject, along with climate change, mean that new varieties will be needed to respond to