ETYM Spanish, from Mex. kakahuatl. Related to Cocoa, Chocolate.
Cocoa tree and seed.
Tropical American evergreen tree Theobroma cacao of the Sterculia family, now also cultivated in W Africa and Sri Lanka. Its seeds are cocoa beans, from which cocoa and chocolate are prepared.
The trees mature at five to eight years and produce two crops a year. The fruit is 17–25 cm/6.5–9.5 in long, hard and ridged, with the beans inside. The seeds are called cocoa nibs; when left to ferment, then roasted and separated from the husks, they contain about 50% fat, part of which is removed to make chocolate and cocoa. The Aztecs revered cacao and made a drink for the nobility only from cocoa beans and chilis, which they called chocolatl. In the 16th century Spanish traders brought cacao to Europe. It was used to make a drink, which came to rival coffee and tea in popularity.
1. Seed of the cacao tree; ground roasted beans are source of chocolate; SYN. cocoa bean.
2. Tropical American tree producing cacao beans; SYN. cacao tree, chocolate tree, Theobroma cacao.

Comunidad in Puerto Rico (USA).