Cacao is essentially the raw material that becomes chocolate, after being fermented, dried, and roasted. Cacao is considered a “superfood” in the West, full of antioxidants and a stimulating tonic, but it is an ancient medicine that has been used for millennia. Cacao is truly a rainforest plant. Locals often eat it fresh and raw—its large purplish seeds are coated with a film of sticky, floral-tasting white flesh that bears no resemblance to chocolate as we know it.