Post Harvest Cacao Procedures

Chocolate Guild

Post Harvest Procedures

Fermentation

Fermentaion is a hugely important process in chocolate making. All the flavor of chocolate is started right here during this process. If a bean has been fermented badly then it is a bad bean. If it has been fermented properly then it is a good bean. It's as simple as that. Without good fermentation you can't make good chocolate.

The Process:

First the ripe Cacao Pods are cut off the tree's. The colors of ripe cacao pods can range from yellow to orange to purple to even red. The fruit(Pods) are then cut and broken open. On the inside of the pod you will find a white pulp covering all of the beans. The pulp and beans are taken out of the pods and left out to "Ferment". The most important Process of chocolate making!!!

There are two ways of fermenting:

1) The first method is the Boxed Method. This is where the beans and pulp are put into a large box that has wholes cut out of the sides and bottom of the box. The beans and pulp inside the box are then usually covered by banana leaves.

2) The next method is the Heap Method. This is where the beans and pulp are heaped into piles on the ground and left to ferment. These are also usually covered by banana leaves.

-Both methods have goods and bads to them depending on what type of flavor you are trying to get.

During the time of fermentation natural yeasts in the air start to break down the sugar rich pulp. This process changes the heat and ph level of the box of beans or the heap of beans. The beans and pulp are left out from 48 hours to as many as 7 days until a certain ph level is achieved and the Cotyledon(nib) of the bean is shrivled to a certain extent(usually Criollo and Trinitario beans, take a shorter amount of time). During that time span the beans can be turned a number of times to create a uniform fermentation or to allow air to get to the pulp for certain yeasts to work better. During the fermenation process the germ in the bean is killed. This process is a very scientific process and many chemical reaction take place. Those chemical reactions are what release and form the precursers of the chocolate flavor. Once the cacao is "Roasted" those flavor precursors will turn into the full chocolate flavor.

Sun Drying Cacao

Box Fermenation Method - Provided by http://www.sustainableharvest.org/

Colors of Raw, Fermented, and Dried Beans:

Bean type	Raw Bean	After Fermenting	Dried Bean
Criollo	White-Light Purple	Light Brown	Medium brown
Trinitario	White-Light Purple	Light Brown	Medium brown
Forastero	Purple	Brown	Dark Brown

Fermenation Box - Provided by www.cottontreelodge.com

Drying the Fermented Cacao

Sun Drying Cacao:

This is the true way to dry cacao beans. This process is done on the cacao farms and is done by putting the fermented beans onto large decks or wooden moving platforms(that can go under coverings during rain) and spread out so that they are not in a pile and all of the beans are close to flat on the deck or platform(Many farmers dry there beans right on patios like the one to the left). The beans are left out there during the day to dry under the sun and spread and mixed from time to time depending on the farmers technique. This is done with a rake looking device that moves the beans and seperates them. During the night time they are covered for protection. The beans are dried to the moisture content of 7-8% approximately and then baged in berlap sacs and sent off to chocolate manufacturers world wide. The whole drying process takes rougly a week give or take a few days. (If it is raining they cover the beans till the rain stops or if there is too much rain they go to alternative methods which are discussed below.)

Fire Drying:
If there is too much rain or the farmers need to get the beans out to buyers more quickly then some resort to fire drying. This process is pretty much self explanitory. They use fires to increase the heat around the beans and dry them quicker. The disadvantage is that the smoke from the fire gets into the beans and changes the flavor of the beans. Or at least covers up the flavor with a smoky type flavor in the finished product. This process is looked down upon when attempting to make premium beans.

Forced-Air Drying:
This process is somewhat like your drier at home for laundry. It artificialy dries the beans and does it rather quickly. This does get the cacao beans off to be sold quicker but it can have bad side effects. If the beans are dried to fast the beans can have an over acidic taste to them.