Cacao is the seed from which cocoa and

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

are made, from Spanish cacao, an adaptation of Nahuatl cacaua, the root form of cacahuatl ("bean of the cocoa-tree"). It may also refer to:

Plants

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Theobroma cacao ''Theobroma cacao'', also called the cacao tree and the cocoa tree, is a small ( tall) evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. The largest pro ...

'', a tropical evergreen tree **

Cocoa bean The cocoa bean (technically cocoa seed) or simply cocoa (), also called the cacao bean (technically cacao seed) or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances ...

, the seed from the tree used to make chocolate ** Cacao paste, ground cacao beans. The mass is melted and separated into: ***

Cocoa butter Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, edible fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. Cocoa butter has a cocoa flavor and aroma. Its melti ...

, a pale, yellow, edible fat; and ***

Cocoa solids Dry cocoa solids are the components of cocoa beans remaining after cocoa butter, the fatty component of the bean, is extracted from chocolate liquor, roasted cocoa beans that have been ground into a liquid state. Cocoa butter is 46% to 57% of the ...

, the dark, bitter mass that contains most of cacao's notable phytochemicals, including

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...

and

theobromine Theobromine, also known as xantheose, is the principal alkaloid of ''Theobroma cacao'' (cacao plant). Theobromine is slightly water-soluble (330 mg/L) with a bitter taste. In industry, theobromine is used as an additive and precursor to s ...

Places

Cacao, French Guiana Cacao is a village in French Guiana, lying on the to the south of Cayenne. Most of the population are Hmong farmers, refugees from Laos who were resettled in French Guiana in 1977. The reasoning was that living, and working conditions were sim ...

Cacao, Carolina, Puerto Rico Cacao is a barrio in the municipality of Carolina, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 4,214. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became an ...

Cacao, Quebradillas, Puerto Rico Cacao is a barrio in the municipality of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 4,663. One of the communities within this barrio is named Cacao Community and in 2010 had a population of 1,001. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spa ...

Cacao Alto Cacao Alto is a barrio in the municipality of Patillas, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 2,449. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and becam ...

, Patillas, Puerto Rico *

Cacao Bajo Cacao Bajo is a barrio in the municipality of Patillas, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 1,437. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and becam ...

, Patillas, Puerto Rico *

Hacienda Cacao Hacienda Cacao is located off the Carretera Uman-Hopelceh (Uman-Hopelceh highway) within Abalá Municipality, Mexico, and is in the South West Region 8 area of the State of Yucatán. It is one of the properties that arose during the nineteenth ce ...

, Yucatán, Mexico

Other uses

Maria Cacao Maria Cacao is the ''diwata'' or mountain goddess associated with Mount Lantoy in Argao, Cebu, Philippines. The Maria Cacao legend is a prominent example of the mountain goddess motif in Philippine mythology; other prominent examples being Mari ...

, a mountain goddess in the Philippines

Plants

Places

Other uses

See also