❤️💰 Fruit of Money and Love

Theobroma cacao, commonly known as the Chocolate Tree or Cacao Tree, is very exciting plant and a superfood as we mentioned earlier.

• 💥 Theobroma means "food of the gods" in Greek. "Theo" means god, and "broma" means food.
• 💥 The Olmecs, Mayans, and Aztecs were among the first to cultivate cacao, using it to make a bitter beverage called xocoatl. It was often spiced with chili peppers and used in various rituals and ceremonies.
• 💥 Currency: in ancient Mesoamerican cultures, cacao beans were so valuable that they were used as a form of currency. For example, 100 beans could buy a slave or a turkey.
• 💥 The Aztecs believed that cacao had stimulating properties and used it as an aphrodisiac. Emperor Montezuma was said to consume a large amount of cacao before visiting his harem. We can't deny that chocolate's mood-enhancing properties, combined with cultural and psychological factors, contribute to its romantic allure! ❤️
• 💥 A cacao pod contains 20 to 50 beans, each surrounded by a sweet, mucilaginous pulp. The pods grow directly on the trunk and larger branches of the tree, a feature known as cauliflory.
• 💥 After harvesting, cacao beans are fermented for several days, a critical step that develops the flavor precursors needed for chocolate production.
• 💥 The Cacao tree thrives in the humid, tropical regions around the equator. It can be grown as an exciting house plant.
• 💥 Health benefits: cacao beans are rich in antioxidants, magnesium, iron, and other minerals. They also contain flavonoids, associated with heart health benefits.
• 💥 There are three main varieties of cacao beans: Criollo, Forastero, and Trinitario. Criollo is considered the highest quality but is less common due to its susceptibility to disease. Forastero is the most widely grown, known for its hardiness. Trinitario is a hybrid of the two.
• 💥 It takes about 400 cacao beans to make one pound of chocolate. The beans undergo roasting, grinding, and mixing with sugar and other ingredients to produce the final chocolate product.

📚Learn more: Plants of Love - Aphrodisiacs of the plant world

🛒 Grow your own Chocolate Tree

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🍲 How soon will Peanut Butter Tree fruit?

This is a 3-year old Peanut Butter Tree (Bunchosia argentea) that we introduced in earlier post. It's the second year it's been fruiting. Delicious fruit!

Bunchosia argentea - Peanut Butter Tree, earns its name from its fleshy fruits that boast a delightful peanut butter flavor.

📚 Learn more from previous posts:

• • Delectable Peanut Butter Tree
• • The best small fruit trees that will produce right away

🛒 Get your own Peanut Butter Tree

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More pictures of the Cannonball Tree for the previous post 👆

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🥭 Top 5 exotic Mango varieties for rare fruit collection.

Now that you have decided to collect them all but have limited space, these are the top 5 of the most interesting rare Mango cultivars:

• 🟠 1. Kar Lon Long - rare and unusual, native to India. Fruits that can weigh up to 5 lbs each! The unique flavor that has been described as being a cross between a mango and a pineapple.
• 🟠 2. Mun Kun Si - similar to Nam Doc Mai but much bigger. Rare variety, very popular among Thai and Vietnamese people. The fruit are extremely sweet, fiberless and somewhat crunchy ("Mun" means crunchy). Very late producer, fruit may still be on a tree as late as January.
• 🟠 3. Pina Colada - very sweet, has rich flavor with a hint of coconut and pineapple.
• 🟠 4. Ugly Betty - awesome mango, great sweet flavor, while the fruit is real ugly! Slightly mis-shaped at the top - hence the name.
• 🟠 5. Giselle - from Gary Zill's breeding program and was a seedling of a mango called Tower. It was described as a juice mango and is named after Gary's wife.

❓What is your favorite Mango variety? Share in comments 👇

📝 See also earlier posts:

• 🔸 5 most Favorite Mango Varieties
• 🔸 Top 10 Dwarf "Condo" Mango
• 🔸 Top 5 vigorous growers and reliable producers
• 🔸 How to grow a mango tree

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