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
Cupuaçu Cupuaçu Cupuaçu ("Theobroma grandiflorum"), also spelled cupuassu, cupuazú, cupu assu, and copoasu, is a tropical rainforest tree related to cacao. Common throughout the Amazon basin, it is cultivated in the jungles of Colombia, Bolivia and Peru and in the north of Brazil, with the largest production in Pará. The pulp of the cupuaçu fruit is consumed throughout Central and South America, is the national fruit of Brazil, and is used to make ice creams, snack bars, and other products. Cupuaçu trees usually range from in height, though some can reach . They have brown bark, and the leaves range from