Cacao (say it like “kuh-KOW”) is the tree that produces the seeds we use to make chocolate. These seeds, called cacao beans, grow inside large pods that hang directly from the tree's trunk and branches, each pod holding 20 to 40 beans surrounded by sweet white pulp.

The cacao tree only grows in hot, humid regions near the equator, places like Ghana, Ecuador, and Indonesia. Ancient civilizations in Central and South America, including the Maya and Aztec, discovered cacao over 3,000 years ago. They roasted the beans, ground them into paste, and mixed them with spices to create a bitter drink very different from the hot chocolate we know today. To them, cacao was so valuable that the beans served as currency: you could buy things with cacao beans the way we use coins and paper money.

When Spanish explorers brought cacao to Europe in the 1500s, people eventually learned to add sugar and milk, transforming the bitter drink into the sweet treat that became wildly popular worldwide. Today, making chocolate from cacao involves fermenting, drying, roasting, and grinding the beans. The resulting cocoa powder and cocoa butter become everything from chocolate bars to brownies.

The word cacao refers specifically to the raw plant and unprocessed beans, while cocoa usually means the processed powder used in baking and drinks.