Harvesting:
Harvesting CacaoCacao pods are ripe when they turn a vibrant yellow/orange color. Hanging from the trunk and largest branches on small stems, the ripening pods are typically harvested twice per year, though they can be harvested continually.
After being chopped off, the pods are opened and their seeds are removed. Each seed is about the size of an olive. The seeds (or “beans”) grow in five columns surrounded by a white pulp or pith.
In Latin America this pulp, called baba, was used to make a fermented cacao wine as early as 3,000 years ago.