Cacao beans - Harvesting & Processing

Cacao fruit harvesting

Almost all the world's cacao trees are on small family farms. About 90% of cocoa bean production comes from farms under 12 acres. 35 million small family cocoa farms around the world, it is estimated that 26 million are located in Africa. From planting to harvesting cocoa farming fermenting every part, have the best hand, are not machines. Tree should be removed from the pods individually, by hand, because not all cook at the same time. Generally, farmers or large poles associated with machetes slice down the knife use cooked beans, taking care to not hurt the buds.

A tree or five six years ago about 30 fruit.Each be old trees will bear usable beans a year, which bears a year, almost 1000 translation for Sam. It takes 500 beans in the best conditions to 1 £ of chocolates.so bitter sweet, only 2 pounds of chocolate each tree produces the festival. Pods split open by hand. Sam scooped out and the outer shell is dismissed. At this point, if you taste a bean pulp you a sweet, lemony taste will notice. Real hard to eat beans and be bitter.

Cacao beans Fermentation

Cocoa beans are scooped from the pods once they are dried and fermented in two step treatment process that sets in motion the chocolate flavor nuances to develop the test process is so important development of the first tasty.Fermentation 'beans taste. Beans, still covered with pulp, a large, shallow wooden boxes kept in or are living in piles of leaves and banana was.

Once fermentation begins, the Chinese pulp is converted into acids that change the chemical composition of beans. Fermentation as high as 125 ° F. temperature generated, enzymes that are beginning to taste the chocolate business which as we know it's active form. Fermentation process takes anywhere from two to eight days.

Cacao beans drying

The next important process is drying. The best way to dry cocoa beans and keeps them on a bamboo mat in the sun's warming rays have them go bask. Some damp, rainy weather, or hot air inside the beans that can cause problems with circulating blowers are drying up. Even if the festival of fast chemical reactions allowed to dry fermentation process started and finished runner are not acidic or bitter taste. If drying is too slow and mold can develop off-flavors. Drying process takes several days during which almost all their moisture and more than half their bean weight. Once beans are dried, they taste different chocolates are ready to build.

Cacao beans marketing

Farmers' fields around collections where they are mixed with beans, fermented and dried cocoa beans take on sites. £ 200 bags full of beans and reduce the number of beans open to see if they were properly fermented samples taken by centers.Buyers shipping in crop quality. One is brown and aromatic beans to the center.