Theobroma cacao as culinary, purposes. Some mixtures included maize, chili, vanilla ("Vanilla planifolia"), and honey. Archaeological evidence for use of cacao, while relatively sparse, has come from the recovery of whole cacao beans at Uaxactun, Guatemala and from the preservation of wood fragments of the cacao tree at Belize sites including Cuello and Pulltrouser Swamp. In addition, analysis of residues from ceramic vessels has found traces of theobromine and caffeine in early formative vessels from Puerto Escondido, Honduras (1100–900 BC) and in middle formative vessels from Colha, Belize (600–400 BC) using similar techniques to those used to extract chocolate residues from four
Theobroma cacao until practices changed in the 21st century, the fermented pulp may be distilled into an alcoholic beverage. Each seed contains a significant amount of fat (40–50%) as cocoa butter. The fruit's active constituent is the stimulant theobromine, a compound similar to caffeine. Cacao ("Theobroma cacao") belongs to the genus "Theobroma" classified under the subfamily Byttnerioideae of the mallow family Malvaceae. Cacao is one of 17 species of "Theobroma". In 2008, researchers proposed a new classification based upon morphological, geographic, and genomic criteria: 10 groups have been named according to their geographic origin or the traditional cultivar name. These groups are: