Cocoa beans are the dried, fermented seeds of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), harvested from pods and processed into chocolate, cocoa powder, and cocoa butter. After harvest, the beans are fermented and dried to develop flavor, then roasted, which mellows their raw bitterness into deeper, rounder notes. Cracking and hulling roasted beans yields cocoa nibs, which are ground into cocoa liquor and then separated into cocoa solids (cocoa powder) and cocoa butter. Flavor varies by origin and variety, ranging from fruity and floral to earthy and nutty, similar to how terroir affects wine or coffee.