It makes a fruit called cacao beans. Raw beans can be crushed into cacao powder. But if the beans are roasted first, they become cocoa powder. Unroasted cacao powder is more bitter than cocoa powder.

The cacao trees mature at five years and begin to flower on the trunk. The flowers are pollinated by midges, a small fly.

However, cacao is made from raw beans, and cocoa is made from roasted beans. Cacao has many health properties because of plant compounds, known as flavonoids, and can aid in blood pressure ...