Cocoa trees (Theobroma cacao L.) are assumed to have been introduced
into Cuba by the Spanish after the colonization of Mexico in the
mid-16th century (Hartmann and Larramendi, 2011). With a
production of 1425 t of cocoa beans in 2013 (Food and Agriculture
Organisation of the UnitedNations), Cuba is a small-scale cocoa-producing
country and strives to offer high-quality fermented dry cocoa beans
to theworld market. Although cocoa growingwaswidespread throughout
Cuba fromthe 17th until the 19th century, the current production is
centred in Baracoa, surrounded by tropical rainforest-covered mountains,
and located in the easternmost province of Cuba, Guantánamo.
More than 70% of the national cocoa production takes place in this region
(Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas e Información, 2012). Cocoa cultivation
and harvest are performed by individual farmers with familial
transmission of the techniques (Márquez Rivero and Aguirre Gómez,
2008). Most cocoa plantations contain a variety of crops and other