Cocoa bean Cocoa bean The cocoa bean or simply cocoa (), which is also called the cacao bean or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of "Theobroma cacao", from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances) and cocoa butter (the fat) can be extracted. Cocoa beans are the basis of the sweet food preparation called chocolate, and of such Mesoamerican foods as "tejate", a pre-Hispanic drink that also includes maize. The word "cocoa" comes from the Spanish word "cacao", which is derived from the Nahuatl word "cacahuatl". The Nahuatl word, in turn, ultimately derives from the reconstructed Proto
Hacienda Cacao Hacienda Cacao Hacienda Cacao is located off the Carretera Uman-Hopelceh (Uman-Hopelceh highway) within Abalá Municipality, Mexico, and is in the South West Region 8 area of the State of Yucatán. It is one of the properties that arose during the nineteenth century henequen boom, and was owned by José María Ponce. Cacao comes from ka'kaw, which in the Mayan language means "cocoa" (Theobroma cacao). The hacienda was built by José María Ponce who issued his own hacienda tokens of special design in 1889 which are highly prized by coin collectors. Ponce grew henequén on the plantation, was considered a master