On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. This article’s lead section may be too short cocoa powder replacement adequately summarize the key points. Cocoa beans are technically not beans or legumes, but seeds.

The cacao tree is native to the Amazon rainforest. As of November 2018, evidence suggests that cacao was first domesticated in equatorial South America, before being domesticated in Central America roughly 1,500 years later. Cocoa was an important commodity in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Chocolate was introduced to Europe by the Spaniards, and became a popular beverage by the mid-17th century. Spaniards also introduced the cacao tree into the West Indies and the Philippines.

It was also introduced into the rest of Asia, South Asia and into West Africa by Europeans. The three main varieties of cocoa plant are Forastero, Criollo, and Trinitario. Cocoa beans of the Criollo variety are rarer and considered a delicacy. Criollo is particularly difficult to grow, as they are vulnerable to a variety of environmental threats and produce low yields of cocoa per tree. The flavor of Criollo is described as delicate yet complex, low in classic chocolate flavor, but rich in “secondary” notes of long duration. The most commonly grown bean is Forastero, a large group of wild and cultivated cocoas, most likely native to the Amazon Basin.