Yes, I grow two types of cocoa, Forestero (Theobroma cacao subsp. sphaerocarpa) and Criollo (Theobroma cacao subsp. cacao).
Hawai'i's windward areas have potential to produce some of the best chocolate. In Kea'au, Hershey's & Amway used to have a test orchard. It's beans produced twice the average butterfat of cocoa grown in other areas. But, they also has a test orchard in Ka'anapali, Maui (leeward) which failed, & they abandoned the project.
Plantations in Africa are generally grown from a hybrid of the two subspecies. known as Trinateros. This is the main source of Hershey's chocolate. The African plantations are in trouble due to disease. This is due to the large monocropping on the plantations. Disease gets on a tree, then goes through the plantation like dominos falling.
Cocoa does best in a mixed forest. In it's native habitat, it is an understory tree of old growth rainforest. I produce cocoa by growing the trees as part of a mixed food forest, using mulch, CaCO2, and chicken manure.
