CULTIVATION AND PROCESSING OF COCOA

CULTIVATION

 Cocoa beans grow in large pods on the cocoa plant, Theobroma cacao, an evergreen tree, which thrives in tropical areas that lie between 20 degrees north and 20 degrees south of the equator. This tree is demanding with regards to cultivation conditions – temperature, humidity, wind and sunshine. It very easily succumbs to rot, pathological wilting and fungal diseases and it must also be protected against wild animals, which like to rip at its pods.

The cocoa plant is traditionally cultivated under the protection of higher trees, which create shade, i.e. under conditions that resemble its natural environment of the jungle. The cocoa plant is successfully cultivated without additional shade if the soil has sufficient moisture and nutrients in areas such as Grenada and some parts of Jamaica. The cocoa plant grows to the size of an apple tree and starts to bear fruit in the third year. If everything goes well, the plant will bear fruit until twenty years old and some trees even live to be a hundred. The shiny, dark green leaves similar to laurel, grow to a length of 30 cm. The small, light pink flowers bloom in dense clusters directly from the trunk and the main branches, from the slightly protruding cushions, which are known scientifically as “cauliflory”.

Roughly five months after pollination, the flowers transform into cocoa pods. The crop is colourful – pods are usually light red, green, purple or yellow, because they change their colour as they ripen. Ripe pods are about 20 cm long, oval with a pointed end and each of them contains 20 to 40 beans, which are encased in a soft white pulp.

HARVEST

The picker can tell that the pod is ready to be harvested by judging the colour of the pod and according to the sound made when it is tapped. It takes years of practice to be absolutely sure that a pod is ripe and so experienced pickers can charge a high price.

Pods are harvested from the tree by being cut at the stalk. The cutting must be performed very carefully so as not to damage the “cauliflory”, because flowers will continue to grow from them and thus also fruit.

Harvesting takes place all year round in some countries although the richest harvest is from May to December. In other parts of the world, for example in West Africa, the crop is harvested from September until February.

FERMENTATION

In the next phase, the pods are carefully cracked with a machete so as not to damage the valuable beans. These are scooped out together with the surrounding pulp and shaped into conical mounds on a carefully prepared base of banana leaves. When the mound is ready, it is wrapped and a few gigantic leaves are added to ensure that the mound is well wrapped. This is how the fermentation process, which lasts up to six days, begins. The chemical processes taking place are complicated, but basically this concerns bacteria and yeast contained in the air multiplying on the sugary pulp around the beans and, this leading to the pulp decomposing into an acidic juice. The temperature of the cone increase during this process and under these conditions, magical changes occur in the actual beans. The colour changes from purple to chocolate brown and the familiar cocoa aroma starts to emerge – the first important phase for processing of superb quality beans. Despite this, the fermentation process is sometimes omitted and both growers and processors argue for and against this.

DRYING

After fermentation, the beans are spread out on a rug made from bamboo or on a wooden floor for drying. Over the course of the ten to twelve days required for drying, the beans are regularly turned over to ensure that they have sufficient air and to prevent them going mouldy. In some places with dense rainfall and high humidity, beans are dried in commercial drying factories. However, the highest quality cocoa comes from the beans, which were dried naturally in the warm tropical sun.

The quality of the chocolate is judged according to several basic criteria:

1. Quality of the cocoa beans

Cocoa beans are divided into groups called Fine, Flavour and Ordinary. The highest quality of these is the Fine group, which is from the Criollo variety and is rarely seen on the market. The second group, Flavour, concerns cocoa from Central America and the Caribbean. The third group consists of Ordinary beans, cocoa from countries in West Africa and Brazil.

The chemical composition of cocoa beans differs according to the specific type of cocoa tree and the environment in which the cocoa tree is cultivated. Beans contain water, proteins, fats, polysaccharides, fibre, calcium, iron, beta-carotene and many other substances. The presence of theobromine (this works as a cardiac stimulant) and caffeine are also important. The energy value of 100g of cocoa beans is 1,900 joules.

2. Cocoa butter content

Cocoa butter is a mixture of fatty acid glycerides, differing with various melting points and has a deep yellow colour. It differs slightly in aroma and melting point according to the type of cocoa bean. The percentage of cocoa butter in quality cocoa beans is around 55%.
Cocoa butter is easily soluble, easy to process and easy to digest. Thanks to a lower temperature, the content of cocoa butter decreases and on production of chocolate, the material can be tipped out of the mould more easily. Another plus point is its stability and durability. Purely as a point of interest: cocoa butter is used in the cosmetic industry for production of various creams and ointments because it is usually well tolerated and does not irritate the skin.

The higher the content of cocoa butter, the better quality and smoother the chocolate. We can of course replace cocoa butter with cheaper fat, but in this case we must count on a worse quality of chocolate. Each chocolate has a slightly different taste and melts differently in the mouth. Lower quality chocolate melts in the mouth worse thanks to the lower quality fats.

The very highest quality chocolate is called “Couverture” in the world of business. This chocolate contains a high percentage of very high quality cocoa butter, is liquid and has a superb taste.

3. The conching process

Conching is a process of mixing at a temperature of 50 – 65ºC and lasts from two hours to three days. This process allows for even distribution of the cocoa butter, improves the flavour and quality and the chocolate thus becomes smoother. The longer this process takes, the better quality the chocolate is.