It is not known who were the first people to cultivate the fruit, but it tells the story that the Aztecs in Mexico and the Mayans in Central America were the first people to cultivate cacao. According to historians, cacao, also called cacahualt, was considered sacred by the people, both for food and to beautify the gardens of the city of Talzitapec, Mexico. And all the cultivation was accompanied by solemn religious ceremonies.

Botanists believe that cocoa originates from the headwaters of the Amazon River, having expanded into two main directions, originating three important groups: Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario. Cocoa seeds were considered so valuable that they were used as a coin. It is said that a good slave could be traded for 100 seeds at the time.

Cacao was gaining economic importance with the expansion of the consumption of chocolate, and with this several attempts were made to implement the cocoa crop in other regions with similar climatic and soil conditions to those of origin. And so, its seeds gradually spread throughout the world. By the mid-eighteenth century, cacao had reached southern Bahia and officially the cultivation of cocoa began in Brazil in 1679.

Cocoa adapted to the climate and soil of southern Bahia, and the region achieved production of up to 95% of Brazilian cacao, with Espírito Santo 3.5% and Amazonia 1.5%. Brazil is the 5th largest cocoa producer in the world, along with Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.