Cocoa production in Samoa

Cocoa is grown in Samoa for domestic consumption and export. German colonists introduced the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) to Samoa in 1883, although oral tradition claims it arrived many centuries earlier around 700. Cocoa cultivation became widespread by the end of the 19th century, and a hybrid variety known as Samoan Trinitario (or koko Samoa) emerged, praised by contemporary buyers for its fine flavor. Colonial authorities initially brought indentured workers from Melanesia and later China to grow the labor-intensive crop. Production peaked in the 1960s but declined in the following decades of independent Samoa. Cocoa exports from Samoa have been steadily rising since revival attempts started in 2012, but most cocoa in Samoa continues to be consumed domestically, particularly as a drink also named koko Samoa.