(3) Main Varieties of Cacoa Beans
Three main varieties of cocoa are: Criollo, Forastero, and Trinitario.  Cacao production in Belize, mainly focuses on Trintario and Forastero varieities.  The Trintario is the most widely used, comprising 80–90% of the world production of cocoa. 

The Trinitario - Trinitario is a hybrid of Criollo and Forastero cacao.  These are normally more resistant to diseases than the Crillo but are not normally found in the wild.  The pods contain up to thirty or more beans varying in colors but rarely white in color.  The outside color of the pod varies ranging from green, light green, red, yellow.  Fermentatin also takes approximately three to five days (3-5 days).

The Forastero - Forastero pods produce up to 30 seeds weighing less than one gram.  The color of the pod varies to green, light green and red, while the inside of the pod is covered in a deep or light purple pulp  It has a strong bitter taste (strongest flavor).  Therefore, the fermentation normally takes about six to eight days (6-8 days).  It is most common in West Africa and South America and it makes up most of the cacao production.

The Criollo - Criollo pods tend to be much rarer, and considered to be a delicacy.  Cacao has lower yields than Forastero and the Criollo tend to be less resistant to several diseases that attack the cocoa plant, hence very few countries produce it. One of the largest producers of Criollo beans is Venezuela (Chuao and Porcelana). The Criollo mainly used for tine chocolates, contains up to fifteen to thirty white, ivory or pale purple seeds which weight more than one gram.  These have pointed-ended pods, its color reanges from yello to ruddy orange whitle the inside appears almost white.  It has a softer skin, its flower is white with two pink lines.  These do not require a lot of fermentation and roasting to soften them and develop their flavor.  Fermentation takes approximately three to five days (3-5 days).

Belize Exports Annually (Statistics as of 2016)
United Kingdom (34%) $69,273,699. USD
United States (23%) $47,304,948. USD

MAYAN HOT CHOCOLATE RECIPE
4 c. milk
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water
1/4 c. brown sugar
1⁄4 tsp. nugmeg
3 whole cloves, crushed
1/4 tsp. chili pepper, crushed
1 cinnamon stick, broken up
2 tsp. powdered sugar
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
DIRECTIONS

• Sift the cocoa powder and flour.
  
• Measure out 4 cups of milk. From the 4 cups of milk, slowly whisk about 1/4 cup of it, a little more if necessary, into the cocoa/cornstarch mix until it becomes a paste. If you add milk too fast, you get clumpy cocoa. If that happens, use a hand blender to smooth it out.
  
• When all the cocoa and flour are a paste (no more dry flour,) add the remaining spices (sugar, nutmeg, cloves, peppers, and cinnamon).
  
• Heat the rest of the 4 cups of milk in a double-boiler or a saucepan over medium.
  
• Add the cocoa paste & spices, mix in a hot double-boiler. Stir constantly to keep it from burning.
  
• If you prefer a slightly thicker drink, you can add more cornstarch/water mixture now. Continue stirring on the heat until it's to your desired thickness. Not too long; you don't want to be forced to use a knife and fork. ;D.
  
• When the cocoa is ready (it takes about 10-15 minutes until the flavor and heat level are *just right*), strain the cocoa in a fine sieve to remove the cloves and cinnamon pieces. (Careful, it could splatter - I found out last night. *grrr*) Then add the powdered sugar and vanilla and stir.
  
• If you like, you can put whipped cream on top, add small marshmallows, or add a stick of cinnamon for stirring.
  

Ingredients
1/4 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 1/2 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Bar Variations

• Chopped Peanuts
  
• Chopped Almonds
• Fleur De Sel Sea Salt
• Chopped Toasted Hazelnuts
• Peanut Butter

Instructions

1. In a small sauce pan on medium-high melt together the coconut oil, cocoa powder, maple syrup, honey, & vanilla. Whisk until completely melted.
2. Pour in to candy bar mold. If using a mix-in (except peanut butter, if using PB add to everything else being melted), add to candy bar mold prior to pouring chocolate.
3. Freeze at least 15 minutes until hardened. Store in freezer.

Fact #1:  Rainforests only cover about 2 percent the total surface area of the Earth, but really about 50 percent of the plants and animals on the earth live in the rainforest.

Fact #2:  Rainforests are the forests which receive high amount of rainfall.

Fact #3: Rainforests can be found in many countries, not just in Central & South America.

Fact #4:  Rainforests are found on all of the different continents, except for Antarctica because it is far too cold there for the environment to be conducive.

Fact #5:  Rainforests can be separated into two different types of rainforests (temperate & tropical). Tropical rainforests are the ones that are most commonly found around the world.

Fact #6:  Rainforests help to regulate the temperatures & weather patterns around the world. 

Fact #7:  Rainforests help to provide us with fresh water.  About a fifth of our fresh water can be found in the Amazon Rainforest Basin to be exact.

Fact #8:  Rainforests help to maintain our supply of drinking water and fresh water, so they are critical in the sustainability of the earth.

Fact #9:  Rainforests provide about 1/4 of the natural medicines we as humans use.

Fact #10: Rainforests provide a diversity of plant and animal life.  In fact, within just four square miles of tropical rainforest, you will find 1,500 flowering plant species, 750 types of trees, and many of these plants can be helpful in combating cancer.

Fact #11:  Rainforests provide about 70% of the plants used for treating cancer.  Plants that can only be found in rainforests.

Fact #12:  Rainforests provide over 2,000 types of plants, used to help aide in cancer treatment because they have anti cancer properties.

Fact #13: The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world.

Fact #14:  Less than one percent of the species of plants in the tropical rainforests have actually been analyzed to determine their value in the world of medicine.

Fact #15: Rainforests are threatened each and every day, by practices agriculture, ranching, logging and mining.

Fact #16:  Rainforests make up about 6 million square miles on earth's surface, now due to deforestation, there is less than of this still found in the world.

Fact #17:  If the rainforests continue to decline in the way that they have been, then about 5-10 percent of the species living inside them, will go extinct every ten years.

Fact #18:  Rainforests are found in about 90% of the worlds underdeveloped countries around the world.

Fact #19:  Rainforests are cut down somewhere in the world every second. In fact, we will probably lose over 80,000 football fields worth of rainforest each and every day.

Fact #20: Rainforests are home to many different types of animals.  Most of them cannot live anywhere else, because they depend on the environment of the rainforest in order to survive.

Fact #21: Rainforests help about 90% (or 1.2 billion) people living in poverty worldwide, to meet their basic daily needs.

Fact #22:  Most of the oxygen supplied in the world, comes from rainforests, even though they are miles away.

Fact #23: Rainforest average temperatures, range between 70 and 85° F.

Fact #24: Rainforests provide us with timber, coffee, cocoa and many medicinal products, to name a few.

Fact #25: Rainforests are constantly being destroyed by multinational logging companies, land owners and developers to make way for more real estate investments.

Fact #26:  Rainforests are so dense with trees, that it takes about 10 minutes for the rainfall to reach the ground from the canopy.

Fact #27:  Rainforests found in Australian, provide 80% of the flowers not found anywhere else in the world.

Fact #28:  Rainforests are lost at a rate of 56,000 square miles each year.

Fact #29:  Rainforest Insects make up the majority of living creatures found within a rainforest. 

Fact #30: Rainforests remaining on the earth, are estimated at about 2.6 million square miles.

Fact #31: Rainforests that are destroyed each day, are equivalent to 86,400 football fields per day, which is equal to 31 million football fields of rainforest each year.

Fact #32: Rainforests provide habitats for a variety of animals, to include:  snakes, frogs, birds, insects, cougars, chameleons, turtles, jaguars and many more.

Fact #33:  Rainforest species are being depletion, at the current rate of 5–10% ever decade.

Fact #34: About 57% of rainforests are in developing countries.

Fact #35:  Rainforests provide about 70% of the plants identified by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (used in the treatment of cancer), can only be found in rainforests.

You can see why it's so important to preserve our world's rainforests.  You can see how much these rainforests impact the lives of everyone (on this planet), even if you don't live near a rainforest. 

There are hundreds of other interesting facts about rainforests, though not mentioned above.  If you haven't taken the time to educate yourself on rainforests, why not do so now.  All it takes, is everyone doing their part, and the world can change.  By doing your part, you are setting an excellent example for others to follow.

Here are some interesting facts specifically about the Belize Rainforest:

FACT #1 - The Belizean Rainforest is huge! More than half of mainland Belize is covered in rainforest.

FACT #2 - The Belize National Flower.  There are hundreds of different kinds of trees in the rainforest but also fragile, beautiful flowers like orchids. Did you know that the Black Orchid is the national flower of Belize, and it grows in the Belizean rainforest?

FACT #3 - Thousands of Caves.  The Belize rainforest is also where you’ll find thousands of caves.  Today you can rappel into some of these caves, explore them, see ancient pottery, ceremonial sites, and the remains of skeletons. 

FACT #4 - Biggest Waterfalls in Central America. The Belize rainforest is also where you will find some of the biggest waterfalls in all of Central America.  Thousand Foot Falls, being one of them in the Mayan Mountains.

FACT #5 - Mayan Ruins & Lost Cities. The Belize rainforest is also where you'll find many (yet to be discovered), lost cities of the Mayan people.  Belize has numerous Mayan sites, where you can see buildings of past civilizations.  The ancient Maya people built enormous pyramids, vast palaces, and strange carved stones called stelae right in the middle of the Belize rainforest. There are still many lost cities yet to be found in the Belizean rainforest.  Satellite images have revealed many of their locations, lost cities just waiting to be discovered. 

FACT #6 - Tours & Excursions.  Most of the tours & excursions offered in Belize, can be found in the Belizean rainforest.  These rainforest adventures, are what attract thousands upon thousands of visitors each year - to this tiny little country in Central America (that I call home). 

Fauna refers to small animal life characteristic of a certain region, period or special environment.

Life on the forest floor is very small; countless bacteria and fungi live out their lives by breaking down the detritus that falls from the leaves above and then lie on the forest floor.  Dead wood is broken down by bracket fungi; orange cup fungi, and termites or woodlice, which contain symbiotic microorganisms that permit cellulose (the toughest part of wood) to be broken down.  Thus, these industrious colonial insects should be viewed as essential members of the recycyling team, it's not their fault that your house is made of dead wood!  Termites build their colonies in healthy trees and must construct covered trails in order to descent to the forest floor and perform their duty.

A multitude of insects, milipedes, centipedes and many undescribed by scientists, make their homes in the forest floor and live by consuming converted detrital material or the fungi and bacteria that break it down.  Rainforest toads, that are newly transormed from tadpoles to adults, hop among the littered forest floor, perfectly disgused by protective coloration to match the background.  Snakes slide along in search of toads or unwary rodents, while larger predators such a Grey Fox, and Coatimundi cruise along the ground, hoping to find other small unwary animals. 

Decomposers are vital links in the eternal cycle of death and rebirth in the rain forest.

Broadleaf forests are very important to the general health of the environment.  They play several critical roles, consider the following:

Climate Control - The dense layers of vegetation characterizing broadleaf forests have an important function in climate contorl; some aspects of global climate change, including a trend towards local drying and warming, have resulted from their destruction.

Provides Constant Temperatures as to Light & Humidity - The constant envrionment under the canopy allows living things to flourish and form countless adaptations over time.  This function is important globally as welll as the ecosystem's own life.

Filtration for Pounding Rainwater Through Canopy Layers - This softens the effect of heavy rains, preenting erosion and soil loss.  The dense canopy also reduces the lost of moisture from evaporation.

Absorption of Carbon Dioxide & Other Gases - Because plants use the most common exhaut gas of human industry for fuel to make their own food by photosynthesis, forests are massive storehouses of carbon and help to lessen the impact of the Greenhouse Effect.

Home to 1/2 the Species Living on the Planet - The forest's continutiy and adaptability to life in a low-nutrient envronment has provided the opportunity over time for tremendous bio-divesity to evolve.  Flora and fauna function together as a team to catch the maximum energy from the sun - a very susceesful ecosystem!