The Diplomat
The Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid received this Friday from the Embassy of Ecuador in Spain the first cocoa plant of an ancient variety from that country, the ‘fine aroma’ (Theobroma cacao L.).
The delivery was made by the Ecuadorian ambassador, Andrés Vallejo, to the director of the Higher Council of Scientific Research of Spain, María Paz Martín, and consisted of four specimens of this plant, Theobroma cacao, as a symbol of the union of Spain with the South American country on topics related to science and botany.
“These plants began their journey at the experimental station of the National Agricultural Research Institute in Puerto Viejo, on the Ecuadorian coast, more than six months ago, where they were chosen and prepared so that they could undertake their journey,” Vallejo explained.
The ambassador explained that the incorporation of this plant to the Madrid botanist is part of “a project that seeks to rescue cocoa of Ecuadorian origin as the oldest record found today.”
This statement arises from a “recent archaeological discovery”, which investigates a site that dates back to 3,500 BC, where a vessel from the Mayo-Chinchipe culture was found in the Ecuadorian Amazon “that contained cocoa beans of the national variety inside.” fine aroma,” he explained.
The donation of this ancient variety “represents the dream come true of scientists and botanists who since the 18th century have tried to introduce this plant into the existing collections of European botanical gardens,” he highlighted.
For her part, the director recalled the cocoa route around 1590 between America and Spain, in which the “cradle” of the seed was Ecuador.
“Hernán Cortés and the Spaniards who arrived in their country carried cocoa seeds with them and introduced the drink called chocolate, which was drunk hot and with cane sugar, but the domestication and cultivation of cocoa were carried out by the Toltecs, Zapotecs and Mayans more than 2,000 years BC,” she said. However, she agreed with Vallejo that recent archaeological studies locate the origin of cocoa in Ecuador.
The event included a gastronomic experience inspired by Ecuadorian cocoa, offered by an association of Ecuadorian businessmen, chefs and hoteliers in Spain.
It was also announced that by June 2024 an interactive exhibition will be inaugurated at the Madrid botanical center that will feature archaeological studies that show Ecuador as the land that gave rise to this fruit.
