Cocoa trees are unusual because their big, colourful pods grow straight out of the tree trunk - not from the branches. The pods turn bright red, orange or yellow when they are ripe. Inside each pod are lots of cocoa beans packed tightly together, surrounded by a sweet white fruit pulp.
The volcanic soil of São Tomé and Príncipe is extremely rich in nutrients, and the warm, wet climate is just right for cocoa trees to thrive. The island's chocolate is considered among the best in the world because of these special growing conditions. Some producers make small batches of very high-quality chocolate using cocoa grown right on the island.
Workers on the plantations harvest the pods carefully by hand, then open them to scoop out the beans. The beans are left to ferment - which means they sit in piles covered with banana leaves for several days to develop their flavour - before being spread out in the sun to dry.
The cocoa plantations are also part of the landscape that makes São Tomé and Príncipe so striking. The trees grow in the shade of taller forest trees, so a walk through a plantation feels cool and green. Birds nest in the canopy above, and the air smells faintly sweet.