Yet another Hacker News

40 points felipevb 22 hours ago 10 comments

uxhacker 14 hours ago | parent

Until I saw this I was wondering where Switzerland and Belgium got there cocoa from, because I have never seen a tree growing in either country, and one is always hearing about Swiss and Belgium chocolate.

simtel20 8 minutes ago | parent

They source from all of the globe's cacao growing regions

pvaldes 14 hours ago | parent

Just for the record, Spain produces Cacao since 2022, with the first 70 Kg of fully European Cacao on 2023. Courtesy of some cunning and patient sapiens. And it only toke 100 years of work.

eltondegeneres 13 hours ago | parent

This is notable because it's in an unheated greenhouse. Lots of botanical gardens around the world, like the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens in NYC, have fruit-bearing cacao trees in their (heated) tropical rooms.

pvaldes 13 hours ago | parent

In greenhouses also in South of Spain. With climate change roaring, more places in the North will be able to culture that. It takes a lot of time to grow and some talent to obtain the fruit but it could be possible. I bet that it tastes 1000 times better than the processed cacao.

The tree can not stand long periods of temperatures below 15 Celsius.

whatever1 26 minutes ago | parent

I love chocolate.

But man some some times I wonder how desperately hungry were the people who made something edible out of the cocoa tree.

simtel20 8 minutes ago | parent

Well, the fruit is a lovely flavor. Once you learn that e.g. pomelo peel has a way to cook and be eaten, you realize the resourcefulness of our forebears and their quest for flavor and a full belly

seszett 16 minutes ago | parent

Cacao trees are the most difficult plant I have grown, they are much more finicky than many others, and I almost only grow tropical or subtropical plants (in a temperate climate, in France and now Belgium).

I don't know which climate this gentleman lives in, but winter in France has been fatal to several of my trees simply because of the reduced ambient humidity due to needing heating in the house. None have survived more than three years.

NoMoreNicksLeft 5 minutes ago | parent

I've never managed to get them taller than 10 inches. And this last year, no leaves at all... the tap root would emerge, but something always kills it quickly. Though, to be fair, those were from a grocery store pod (I think they refrigerate them during transport).