>>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