Exciting news: USDA Cacao graft now bearing pods in South Florida! Join us to learn more.

"Growing cocoa buzz: USDA's Puerto Rican cacao flourishes in South Florida. In this video we will Explore the first Cacao Pod Harvested and explore the flavor and look at the seeds.
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I have a few “Yellow Cacao” from Homestead FL. They have no variety other than yellow. And 90% of them have identical fruit. Small smooth pods, slightly smaller purple seeds, delicious tangy pulp. They hold up very well in the full sun and without water right now and through the mild winters. At first I was a bit peeved that the pods are considerably smaller… but I roasted the seeds and they are fantastic. I have no idea if they are the same but they probably are similar with how close the University and USDA are from here.

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That all said, they are in ground, solid oolite, and they’ve grow tall so far. They are about 10’ now. Tons of fruit. What it lacks in pod size they make up for with more pods. I fermented the seeds for about a week and then oven roasted. It has a mild chocolate alcohol taste and there isn’t that much bitterness. Which is a huge plus. I can’t say I’ve ever roasted cacao seeds before, so I have nothing to compare those to, but the cacao nibs from this tree are edible on their own with a slight bitter aftertaste. I use them to snack on. Note: I did have tons of dead or dying baby pods for the first year or so. Then they started holding well. I thought it was a fungal issue, but I think the tree was just too young and too recently recently transplanted.