![Cocoa](../_Media/cocoa_med_hr.jpeg)
Before it is processed, Chocolate is Cocoa. Chocolate is made from the beans which grow within the pod shown above. The pods, see image right, grow directly from the trunk of the cocoa plant.
The very best chocolate is made by grinding the roasted beans and adding your chosen spice - added to milk for a wonderful drink.
Cocoa is native to the Americas and was one of the plants domesticated by the early indigenous peoples.