Nicaragua, the largest country in Central America, is bordered by Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, the Caribbean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. Known as the "land of lakes and volcanoes," it boasts the second-largest rainforest in the Americas, the two largest freshwater lakes in Central America, and over 40 active volcanic mountains along the Pacific coast. Nicaragua has a warm tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. Since gaining independence from colonial rule in 1821, Nicaragua has faced political unrest, dictatorship, occupation, and fiscal crises, contributing to a rich cultural tapestry evident in its folklore, music, poetry, and literature. When Spanish explorers arrived, they found a well-developed agrarian society using the rich volcanic soils to cultivate beans, peppers, corn, and cacao. Legend has it that Christopher Columbus had his first taste of cacao here. Despite cacao never becoming a major export product, it has remained a local favourite, especially in the form of pinolillo, a bitter drink made from toasted ground corn and cacao mixed with water or milk. Today, Nicaragua has over 50 cocoa cooperatives and a small but growing bean-to-bar chocolate scene. Comprised almost exclusively of smallholders and producing only about 0.3% of the global supply, Nicaraguan cocoa is ideal for smaller-batch, single-origin chocolate.