Pod is the fruit of the cocoa. Thousands of flowers grows every year on the cocoa tree but they will give only some tens of pods. A correct maintenance of the tree, by the clearing and the size allows to increase inflorescenece and number of pod produced.
Pods reach their maturity at about four or five months. At first they are generally of green color, then according to the varieties their color can turn to the yellow, to the orange and to the purple red. At the time of harvest the biggest can weigh up to eight hundred grams.
The inside part of the pod is divided into five rooms (as the number of petals of the flower of the cocoa) which contain the seeds of the cocoa. These seeds are wrapped with the mucilage. The mucilage which is very sweet plays an important role in the fermentation of seeds.
