Seamus Blackley, a tech executive known best for inventing the Xbox game console, inspects his cacao trees. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) There are technological and biological wonders inside the ...

It’s almost impossible to imagine a world without chocolate. Yet cacao trees, which are the source of chocolate, are vulnerable. I am a passionate chocolate lover and an entomologist who studies cacao ...

Archaeologists have shed light on the origins of chocolate by tracing the spread of the cacao tree. A new study published in Scientific Reports found that the cacao tree, which grows cocoa beans, ...

Cacao has long been a sought-after raw material for the worlds food industry. At first glance, it therefore seems surprising that biology knows little about the pollination of the cacao tree – ...

Gardeners who love chocolate may want to grow cacao and make their own chocolate. Cacao trees grow well here in Hawaii and with room for a small tree where it can have a shady overstory, it’s worth ...

The productivity of cacao trees decreases with time, forcing farmers to renew their plantations by either cutting down the old trees or establishing a new crop elsewhere. Frequently, new plantations ...

Just as Kona coffee became world-renowned in the 20th century, local cacao growers and chocolatiers hope Hawaiian chocolate achieves similar acclaim in the 21st century. These specialty products are ...

You may think you know all there is about chocolate, but cacao beans are only part of the story. With a rich history, cacao ...

This search has led a team of researchers to an unlikely candidate—the humble carob pulp, a neglected food by-product. Their study reveals how carob pulp can be transformed into a cocoa-like ...

You don’t have to like the taste of grass to enjoy the “detox cuisine” at Cacao Tree Café, though some do. I saw aficionados swirling a hit of electric-green wheatgrass juice in a shot glass, inhaling ...

Seamus Blackley is best known for creating the Xbox game console. Now he has a new mission: to start a Los Angeles chocolate company. The challenge? Cacao trees don’t grow in the Southern California ...