{"id":294,"date":"2023-10-29T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-29T02:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/?p=294"},"modified":"2023-11-02T11:46:15","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T03:46:15","slug":"tawau-cocoa-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/tawau-cocoa-village\/","title":{"rendered":"Trip to the Cocoa Village of Tawau, the Chocolate Capital"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What food is cool 4,000 years ago and is still cool today? Today it is found in cakes, candy, drinks, desserts, ice-cream and cookies, you name it. In the past, Mayans praised chocolate as the drink of the gods, and the Aztecs (Mexica) believed that cocoa seeds were the gift of Quetzalcoatl, the god of wisdom. Now chocolate is also a food of love that you give to your crushes on Valentines’ Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Display<\/a>
Display at the entrance of Teck Guan Cocoa Village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cocoa in Sabah<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cocoa is the main ingredient of chocolate. Malaysia is one of the major cocoa-producing countries in Asia, and over 60% of Malaysian cocoa beans are from Tawau of Sabah State. Teck Guan Cocoa Village is one of the earliest plantations to cultivate cocoa in Tawau. This village is also a family-friendly destination opens to public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Quoin<\/a>
Quoin Hill at Teck Guan Cocoa Village is an extinct volcano. Its fertile volcanic soil is ideal for cocoa plantation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For teachers and parents, a visit to the cocoa village offers an excellent outdoor education to make learning fun to their children.<\/strong> Because of Internet, the new generations spend far more time in virtual world than real world that some of them are even afraid of chicken. Gosh, where’s our hope in future if we have kids who are spooked by “food”? Anyway, adults would find the tour at cocoa village interesting too. Who doesn’t like chocolate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Left:<\/a>
Left: cold cocoa drink at Cocoa Village. Right: Abiu fruit, also known as “I Love You” fruit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Five Fun Things to Do at Cocoa Village<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The tour to Teck Guan Cocoa Village takes about half-day (from 10am to 3pm)<\/strong> and requires booking in advance. The staff there will give you a guided tour to experience the wonders of nature and cocoa fruits. The following is a walk-through of the tour. My guide is Ms. Chida, a friendly sino who can speak English, Chinese and Malay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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