Chocolate & Vanilla, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Coral Gables, Fla.

Coral Gables, Fla—Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is growing hot chocolate. Well at least they are growing the beginning components of a good hot chocolate—vanilla and cocao fruit pods. You always need a touch of vanilla to mellow out the bitterness of the cocoa.

Cocao fruit pod on tree next to vanilla orchid vine, Fairchild
TropicalBotanic Garden, Coral Gables,
Miami-Dade County, Fla.

Both of these plants grow best in a truly tropical climate but in the garden’s million plus dollar green house they are thriving. Cocoa is extracted from the dried and fermented seeds found inside the cacao fruit pod.

In the picture above you can see the brown cocao pod on the left and the glossy leafed vanilla vine on the right. It is an orchid that produces a seeded fruit called a vanilla pod.

Immature Cocao pod on tree, Fairchild Tropical Botanic
Garden, Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, Fla. Copyright
2013 by Helen A Lockey

To see the living hot chocolate you can visit Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, FL  33156
Open Mon- Sun 9:30 to 4:30 pm,

Phone: (305)-667-1651