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1. The Cocoa Industry in
Trinidad and Tobago

3. The humble Cocoa - Definition
• Cocoa, Theobroma cacao, is an evergreen tree which originates from the upper
Amazon region of South America .
• The pods are grown for its seeds (beans) which are used mainly to make chocolate.
• The tree produces clusters of pale yellow flowers each with five petals and sepals.
• The cocoa pods (drupes) can be green-white, yellow, purplish or red in color each
of which contains 20–50 seeds, usually arranged in five distinct rows.

4. The humble Cocoa - Definition
• Cocoa may also be referred to as cacao, koko or Kacao.
• Cocoa beans are primarily used in the production of chocolate, cocoa
powder and cocoa butter for consumption. Cocoa butter is also used in the
cosmetic industry.

7. The humble Cocoa - Description
• The cocoa plant is a branching tree with simple, pointed leaves.
• The cocoa tree can reach 4–20 m (13-66 ft) in height.
• They can live for up to 40 years although the commercial life of a cocoa tree
is usually about 25 years.

9. The humble Cocoa - varieties
THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT types of cocoa bean which are used in
chocolate production today.
• CRIOLLO
• FORASTERO
• TRINITARIO

11. The humble Cocoa - varieties
CRIOLLO
• Criollo chocolate has a distinctly reddish colour and a distinctive taste that
differs from the other varieties.
• Its flavors can consist of caramel, nuts, vanilla and tobacco.
• Originated in Venezuala

13. The humble Cocoa - varieties
Forestero
• The most widely grown cocoa variety.
• Originates from the Amazon region.
• Name means (foreigner) in Spanish.
•

15. The humble Cocoa - varieties
Trinitario
• A hybrid/ mix of the criollo and Forestero cocoa
• More resistant to illness
• Originated in Trinidad and Tobago
• Used to make high-end dark chocolates

18. History

19. The humble Cocoa -History
• Cocoa production has contributed to the development of Trinidad and
Tobago for over 200 years and has undoubtedly been quite a illustrious one.
• The Spaniards first planted the Criollo (native) variety in Trinidad in 1525
which was introduced from Mexico.

20. The humble Cocoa -History
• In 1727 a severe outbreak of illness struck the country, greatly damaging the
population of the criollo cocoa trees.
• To help alleviate the problem the Forestero coca variety was introduced in
1757.
• Over time the Forestero coca trees were interbred with the remaining criollo.

21. The humble Cocoa -History
• The result of this interbreeding was the trinitario variety.
• The hybrid has qualities of both and higher resistance many of the fungues
and other illnesses that are common to the cocoa.
• After slavery in 1807, land was cheap and easy to get, which encouraged
many people to plant cocoa.
• Many of the properties already had cocoa trees on them.

22. The humble Cocoa -History
• 1830 Trinidad was the largest producer of high-quality cocoa.
• Produced 20% of the world's intake.
• Cocoa production became Trinidad and Tobagos main source of income
from the period of 1866 to 1920.
• Global demand was very high at this time and increasing.

24. The humble Cocoa -History
• After 1920, the cocoa industry faced several new challenges that began to
weaken it's profitability.
• Rise in global competition (. West Africa, Latin America etc.)
• More cocoa available globally, made it cheaper.
• The appearance of the 'witches' broom disease' in Trinidad, damaging the
amount of cocoa produced.

25. The humble Cocoa -History
• The development and rapid growth of both the petroleum and sugar
industries at that time, also competed with the Cocoa for their labor force.

26. The humble Cocoa -History
• At present there are about 1700 cocoa Farmers still in operation.
• Trinidad still has the ability to make high quality cocoa and chocolate.
• There have been talks about reviving the industry.