TOPICS: Cocoa bean benefits

Cocoa beans can be new for many among us but it is actually a famous bean crop of America. It is believed that Cocoa bean originated in the basins of South Americas.

Cocoa bean can be obtained from the seeds of Theobroma cacao. Cocoa is more famous among Europeans and the Americas than in Asia, because Americans and Europeans simply love chocolates.

Oh yes! Cocoa beans are the prime ingredients of the chocolate industry.

The most famous variety formed of cocoa bean is hot chocolate. Similarly, cocoa powder is also a popular product of cocoa.

Cocoa beans are grown near countries close to the equator. Countries which are in the front of cultivating cocoa beans are Indonesia, Ghana and the Ivory Coast mainly. As already mentioned the equatorial region is where most cocoa production takes place.

However, regarding climate and soil requirements Nepal is also a country with high potentials of cocoa cultivation. Therefore, we could benefit immensely through the cultivation and consumption of cocoa beans.

Cocoa bean production in Nepal should be explored with its various possibilities.

Basically, cocoa needs a temperature from 18 to 32 degree Celsius which is an average temperature in the context of Nepal.Cocoa and its products are used worldwide.

The major importer of cocoa beans is the United States of America. Cocoa is mainly processed in Europe  in Belgium, UK and some other countries.

Cocoa is exported in the form of beans.

Let’s talk about chocolate, it sounds yummy? To make one kilogram of chocolate 600 to 700 beans must be processed. First of all beans are roasted, but these days it is powdered and called nibs.

Nibs can be sold in small packages and in wholesale form as raw materials for chocolate production.

From health viewpoint cocoa beans have many advantages. Cocoa beans consist of antioxidants and flavanoids which are believed to have anti-aging functions. Cocoa beans are good for the heart.

A 15-year study of elderly men published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2006 found a 50 per cent reduction in cardiovascular mortality and a 47 per cent reduction in all-cause mortality for men regularly consuming more cocoa compared to those consuming less cocoa.

Although we may not be familiar with the cocoa beans industry, it is one of the most discussed materials among Europeans and Americans. Why should we lag behind?