Sri Lanka’s fame for some of world’s finest cocoa is threatened with the local production volumes declining sharply. Although an ideal inter-crop with coconut, promoting the ecological balance, the disinterest of many local landowners in this wonder crop considered the ‘food of the gods’ is declining at an accelerated pace. We spoke to several Sri Lankan Cocoa enthusiasts who warn that unless urgent interventions are made, Sri Lankan Cocoa is on the path to botanical antiquity. by Randima Attygalle Botanically termed Theobroma cacao, the cocoa tree is believed to have originated in the Amazon basin and spread to Central America, largely to Mexico. The natives in this region including Mayans and Olmecs revered it as the ‘food of gods’. Cocoa seeds were used as currency by the Aztecs. By the beginning of the 19th Century, it was introduced to the colonies and was developed in Africa and Asia as a commercial plantation.