Chocolate Facts: Why Does Chocolate Seem to "Melt in the Mouth"

Good chocolate melts just below the temperature of the human body and that's why it literally melts in the mouth. 

Chocolate Facts: Up to 50 million people worldwide depend on cocoa for a living and other interesting facts.

• Number of cocoa farmers, worldwide: 5-6 million
• Number of people who depend upon cocoa for their livelihood, worldwide: 40-50 million
• Annual cocoa production, worldwide: 3 million tons
• Annual increase in demand for cocoa: 3 percent per year, for the past 100 years
• Current global market value of annual cocoa crop: $5.1 billion
• Cocoa growing regions: Africa, Asia, Central America, South America (all within 20 degrees of the equator)
• Percentage of cocoa that comes from West Africa: 70 percent
• Length of time required for a cocoa tree to produce its first beans (pods): five years
• Duration of “peak growing period” for the average cocoa tree: 10 years

Source: World Cocoa Foundation

 

Random Chocolate Fact

The United States consumes almost half of the world's chocolate every year but the Swiss eat more per person than any other nation.  The good people of Switzerland eat an average of 21 pounds  (about 9.5kg) per person per year. By comparison, Americans only eat 12 pounds (5.4kg).