>>Are cocoa beans edible raw?  Since they come from a tree,  are they not
>>technically like a  bean which is farmed?   Are any pods from trees (like
>>carob, or locust pods) edible raw?

Thanks for the confirmation about Cocoa.I have been  enjoying very
much raw
cocoa beans for 12 years . at time i devore them and feel so satisfyed
other
times it is way too bitter depending on my metabolic needs for it.
Coca are not from the pea family like carob.

and the comparaison with olives is very much interesting, because  raw
olives and  raw cocoa have for me  the same kind of  very pleasant
bitterness and fatty flavor that i enjoy very much . raw uncured
Olives are
also unpleasantly bitter to me when not in need of them ( the same
unpleasant flavor peoples eating cooked food experience generally with
them )

jean-claude