Cacao tree reaches a height of 6/8 metres (sometimes up to 13 meters); its wood is porous, light and covered with a dark-cinnamon bark; its leaves are green, bright,  long up to 25/30 centimetres; its reddish flowers are gathered in cobs; the fruit is egg-shaped, with a pyriform basis, sharpened on its top, long 10/20 cm; large 5/10 cm, yellow-red coloured when it is fresh, darkish when it is dried.

Cacao tree begins to bear fruit when it is 4-5 years old and goes on until it is 30 years old or more; it bears fruit throught the year but there are two main yearly crops. In Mexico the main crop is in March/April, the smallest one in October; in Venezuela we have a crop in November/ December (Christmas crop) and another one, less plentiful, in June/August (St John's crop); in Brazil a great crop is in June/July (winter),another crop in January-February (summer).

The average yearly yeld of a cacao tree is about 1-2 kilos of dried seeds. The seeds, drawn out from the fruit without the pulp sticking on them, are put throught a process of fermentation with the aim of removing their bitter taste and so developing its flowour; besides with the fermentation the almond colour becomes totally reddish and the husk can be easily removed. The fermentation , is made by gathering the seeds in a container, covering with leaves and squeezing them a lot of; it lasts from 3 to 10 days during which the seeds are regularly mixed to avoid an excessive increase in temperature. When the fermentation has ended the seeds are dried in the sun or drying room with hot air. In same countries (Venezuela) before drying is also mixed with ochre for uniform reddish colour (earty cacao)

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