The Cocoa

    Discover all the benefits of Cocoa Butter

    PLANT TYPE: Evergreen – Cocoa

    ORIGIN: South America

    USES: Moisturizing, Anti Aging, Anti Inflammatory, Anti Stretch Marks

    The Benefits and Uses

    Moisturizing | Cocoa butter is a powerful natural moisturizer that melts just above room temperature. It is rich in fatty acids that penetrate the skin and promote healthy, soft skin.

    Emollient | Thanks to its composition rich in fatty acids, cocoa butter has notable emollient, nourishing and protective properties for the skin and, for this reason, it is widely used in the cosmetic field.

    Anti-Age | Cocoa butter is rich in antioxidants including oleic acid, palmitic acid and stearic acid. These fatty acids are beneficial for the skin as they form a protective layer from external agents but also fight free radicals responsible for cellular aging.

    Anti-inflammatory | Cocoa butter is also anti-inflammatory and this is another useful feature for the skin to better resist the elements and the passage of time.

    Anti Stretch Marks | Many people use cocoa butter, in the form of specific creams, also to prevent stretch marks.

    The Story

    Theobroma cacao, also called the cocoa tree and the cacao tree, is a small (4–8 m (13–26 ft)) evergreen tree of the family Malvaceae, native to the deep tropical regions of Mesoamerica. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and chocolate. The largest producer of cocoa beans in 2018 was Côte d'Ivoire, with 37% of the world total.

    The leaves are alternate, entire, not smooth, 10–40 cm (3.9–15.7 in) long and 5–20 cm (2.0–7.9 in) broad.

    The flowers are produced in clusters directly on the trunk and older branches; this is known as cauliflowering. The flowers are small, 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) in diameter, with a pink calyx. The floral formula, used to represent the structure of a flower using numbers, is ✶ K5 C5 A (5° + 5²) G (5). While many of the world's flowers are pollinated by bees (Hymenoptera) or butterflies/moths (Lepidoptera), cocoa flowers are pollinated by small flies, Forcipomyia midges in the subfamily Forcipomyiinae. Using the natural pollinator of Forcipomyia midges for Theobroma cacao has been shown to produce more fruit than the artificial pollinator. The fruit, called the cocoa pod, is ovoid, 15–30 cm (5.9–11.8 in) long and 8–10 cm (3.1–3.9 in) wide, ripening from yellow to orange, and weighing about 500 g (1.1 lb) mature. The pod contains 20 to 60 seeds, usually called “beans,” embedded in a white pulp. The seeds are the main ingredient in chocolate, while the pulp is used in some countries to make refreshing juice, smoothies, jelly, and cream. Usually discarded until practices changed in the 21st century, the fermented pulp can be distilled into an alcoholic beverage. Each seed contains a significant amount of fat (40–50%) as cocoa butter. The active constituent of the fruit is the stimulant theobromine, a caffeine-like compound.

    Uses in history

    According to historical reconstructions, it seems that the Maya were the discoverers and first cultivators of cocoa; according to an Aztec legend, the plant was donated by the god Quetzalcoatl to relieve humans from fatigue. Europeans discovered cocoa seeds when Christopher Columbus received them as a gift, during his fourth voyage, on the island of Guanaja. [7] In the Aztec civilization they were considered a luxury good, and were imported because the plant did not grow on the territory of the empire.

    The consumption of cocoa was a prerogative of the upper classes (nobles, warriors and priests), and was one of the cornerstones of Aztec cuisine. Cocoa seeds were so precious that they were also used as money. Hence the first name for cocoa ( Amygdalae pecuniariae or money almond) later replaced by Linnaeus in Theobroma cacao or food of the gods. Sources of the time also tell of frequent counterfeiting carried out by filling the empty shells with dirt or mud. The word “chocolate” derives from the Aztec term in Nahuatl xocoatl .

    Discover the other ingredients

    HELIANTHUS ANNUUS SEED OIL ( Sunflower Seed Oil ), OLEA EUROPAEA FRUIT OIL ( Olive Oil ), RICINUS COMMUNIS SEED OIL ( Castor Oil ), THEOBROMA CACAO SEED BUTTER ( Cocoa Butter ), MELALEUCA ALTERNIFOLIA ( Tea Tree Oil ), GOLD ( Gold )