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
Cacao yellow mosaic virus Cacao yellow mosaic virus Cacao yellow mosaic virus (CYMV) is a virus in the family Tymoviridae that infects cacao trees in Sierra Leone. CYMV, like other "Tymoviridae" are non-enveloped viruses, surrounded by a capsid approximately 30 nanometers wide. The viral capsid has T = 3 symmetry. "Tymoviridae" have positive-sense single-stranded RNA genomes approximately 6 kilobases long. In the cacao tree, CYMV infection leads to the appearance of large circular yellow blotches on the leaves. Infected trees are not killed or severely inhibited. CYMV has only been found in Sierra Leone where it primarily infects the cacao tree "Theobroma cacao". However,