Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chocolate World
455
Cacao Country
Back to the Bean
Tabasco, Mexico
It all began in Mexico, really. Ages ago, the
ancient Olmecs and Mayans drank a bitter
chocolate beverage brewed from the beans
of the local cacao tree. Devoted to their
xocolatl
—like hot chocolate but spicier—
they cultivated cacao in the lowland tropi-
cal jungles of southern Mexico. That's
where the Spanish conquistadors discov-
ered the drink and promptly sent it back to
Europe. And while chocolate is now grown
in equatorial climates around the globe—
from the Ivory Coast to Indonesia, from
Cameroon to Costa Rica, from Panama to
Papua New Guinea—Mexico is one of the
few cacao-growing countries that still con-
sumes most of its own homegrown choco-
late. And they still mostly drink it hot, just
as the ancient Mayans did.
Around the town of Comalcalco, in
Tabasco, close to a haunting set of Mayan
ruins, you'll find the descendants of those
ancient Mayans working on cacao planta-
tions. The 12-hectare (30-acre)
Finca Cho-
lula,
just east of the ruins (Cardenas-Paraiso
road;
&
52/933/33-4-38-15;
www.finca
cholula.com.mx), grows its beans by
totally organic practices, which isn't
always easy, considering the complex
tropical ecosystem where cacao trees
flourish. To keep this finicky rainforest
native happy, these farmers allow it to be
surrounded by the shade of a heavy tree
canopy (unlike many plantations where
the trees are grown in neat rows). The
humid jungle vegetation helps attract
midges that pollinate the white cacao
flowers, which grow right on the stem of
the trees. Cacao requires consistent year-
round temperature and rainfall, because it
has no seasons; it continuously produces
fruit—the long, ridged yellow pods that
contain cacao beans. Both flowers and
fruit can be on the tree at the same time,
and workers are always harvesting.
You can also visit the large estate of
Cacep Chocolates,
Hacienda Cacaotera
Jesus Maria
(Ranchería Sur 5th section,
Tulipán Rd.;
&
933/33-76176
or 933/32-
53504; www.cacep.com), which offers
tours of its nursery, plantations, and pro-
cessing plant. After workers remove the
beans from the pods, you'll see the boxes
where they are fermented, the patio where
they are spread out to dry, and then the
ovens where they are roasted. Cacep has
its own chocolate factory as well, where
the beans are processed into cacao paste;
in the hacienda there's a relic of an old-
fashioned
chontal
plant for processing
chocolate.
Another leading cacao estate that wel-
comes visitors, sprawling
Hacienda La
Luz
(Blvd. Engineer Leandro Rovirosa
Wade;
&
52/933/334-1129
) is close to the
center of town. Here visitors can browse
through an informative Cacao and Choco-
late Museum before touring the planta-
tion, the processing areas, the handsome
rustic-style ranch house, and beautiful
botanical gardens.
(
Villahermosa (78km/48 miles).
L
$$$
Best Western Hotel Maya
Tabasco,
Bulevar Ruiz Cortines 907, Villa-
hermosa (
&
800/528-1234
in the U.S. and
Canada, or 52/993/358-1111, ext. 822;
www.bestwestern.com). $$
Hotel Plaza
Independencia,
Independencia 123 (
&
52/
993/312-1299
or 993/312-7541; www.
hotelesplaza.com.mx).
Tour Operator:
Mayatabasco (www.
mayatabasco.com).
