Theobroma cacao or five years old. A mature tree may have 6,000 flowers in a year, yet only about 20 pods. About 1,200 seeds (40 pods) are required to produce 1 kg (2.2 lb) of cocoa paste. Historically, chocolate makers have recognized three main cultivar groups of cacao beans used to make cocoa and chocolate: Forastero, Criollo and Trinitario. The most prized, rare, and expensive is the Criollo group, the cocoa bean used by the Maya. Only 10% of chocolate is made from Criollo, which is arguably less bitter and more aromatic than any other bean. In November 2000, the cacao beans
Patrick Edward McGovern beverages one step further by re-creating them, both to learn more about how ancient humans accomplished what they did and to bring the past alive. His collaboration with Dogfish Head Brewery led to the commercial version of Midas Touch, the brewery's most awarded brew in major tasting competitions, Chateau Jiahu (based on the earliest alcoholic beverage from China), and Theobroma (an interpretation of the ancient cacao beverage and named after the tree). Maize or corn "chicha" was a non-commercial experiment, following traditions of the ancient Inca empire, in which native Peruvian red maize was chewed to break the carbohydrates down