Cacao was the base for the drug of choice in the 16th century royal courts of Europe after some intrepid scurvy-ridden plunderers returned from the New World with the recipe for a stimulating beverage. Before that, it was currency in Mexico and down through Central America, putting the lie to the old saying that money doesn’t grow on trees. Cacao ruled.

Nicaragua used to be a major producer of the bean that goes into every chocolate bar, with harvests from plantations along the Rivas isthmus and elsewhere in the country. Little by little, this agricultural tradition is being rescued and some Nicaraguan farmers are reaping the benefits from different projects financed from abroad to produce the raw material.
With the increasing strength of the euro, the German company Ritter Sport recently announced it will pay a better price for organic Nicaraguan cacao, raising it from $3,000 for a metric ton to $3,650. Ritter Sport has been buying between 100 and 150 metric tons over the last few years.

Nicaragua’s capacity for this crop is increasing. There are now about 5,000 hectares being cultivated by 6,500 small farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture projects that there will be 10,000 hectares by 2008 and wants to have the area under cultivation increase to 100,000 hectares over the following five years.

Still no word though about any plans to actually process this fruit and make chocolates here. What would a locally made chocolate bar be called? An “esnickersagüense”?