Although the chocolates of Switzerland, France and Belgium are legendary, the cocoa they are made from is not grown in those countries.

Originating from the jungles of South America, cocoa (cacao theobroma) is an equatorial fruit tree which grows within 18 degrees of the equator.

Today, cocoa is grown commercially across many countries close to the equator as shown in the below map.
Some of the better known cocoa growing countries include Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Bolivia in South America, Ghana and Cameroon in Africa, and Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia in Asia.  In the Oceania region cocoa is also grown in Fiji, Samoa, Solmon Islands and Vanuatu.

Cocoa growing was only established quite recently in Australia.  The first cocoa plantations in Australia were planted about 25 years ago near Port Douglas in Queensland as part of a joint venture trial between the Australian Federal and State Governments and Cadbury Schweppes.  

Australia’s cocoa industry is tiny compared to other cocoa producing nations, with only around 20-30 hectares of cocoa plantations located along Queensland Eastern coast between Innisfail and Cape Tribulation.  The majority of Australian cocoa plantations are near the Daintree Rainforest, regarded as one of the most ancient tropical rainforests in the world.

In most cocoa growing regions, cocoa farmers manage their cocoa plantations, pruning trees, irrigating and fertilising them, and harvesting ripe cocoa pods and taking them to a local cooperative facility where the pods are split open, the wet seeds extracted, fermented and dried and then bagged for sale to cocoa merchants and exporters.

It’s worth noting that each cocoa growing country and region produces unique taste profiles due to the terroir, environment, cocoa plantation husbandry, and local bugs affecting fermentation.  The unique terroir and flavour profile comes through in the final chocolate when cocoa content is high such as in dark chocolate.  

Although some people find dark chocolate rather bitter, Queensland cocoa fermented well has an amazingly tropical, fruity and much sweeter taste compared to cocoa grown in West Africa for example.

Some chocolate is made from a blend of cocoa beans grown in multiple locations, selected and blended to produce a relatively consistent taste profile.  These tend to be supermarket chocolates where consumers are often less discerning, less experienced in chocolate production and cocoa terroir.  More educated chocolate lovers appreciate the nuances and differences experienced through single-origin chocolate made from cocoa from a single country or region.  Single Origin dark chocolates especially can vary from harvest to harvest as varying rainfall and sunshine influences the resulting flavour of the beans.

In the same way wine made from the same grape variety grown in different countries and regions exhibits completely different taste characteristics, cocoa does too.  Going on a personal tour of cocoa regions through tasting numerous single origin dark chocolates with around 70% cocoa content is a fascinating experience, and quickly demonstrates just how diverse cocoa is.

Start your chocolate journey today and you’ll quickly discover the amazing world of single origin chocolate.