Where does chocolate come from?

Chocolate is made from the seeds of a small tropical tree called the Theobroma cacao. While the cacao grows in both Central and South America, the majority of the world's cacao is grown in Africa.

Once harvested, the cacao seeds, which are commonly referred to as beans, must be processed in order to create chocolate. The process of making chocolate first requires the beans to be fermented by tiny microbes, according to Today's Dietitian Magazine. Once they have dried, cacao beans can then be roasted, milled and processed into a liquid that is used to flavor many types of light and dark chocolates.