Cocoa

The cocoa bean or simply cocoa, which is also called the cacao bean or cacao , is the dried and
fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao. The cacao tree is native to the Amazon Basin .
Chocolate was introduced to Europe by the Spaniards.

Two African nations, Ivory Coast and Ghana, produce almost half of the world's cocoa,

Harvesting and Processing Cocoa Beans

The Cocoa Tree - Theobroma Cacao, is its official botanical name, which literally means 'food of the
Gods'.
Cocoa trees resemble English apple trees. They grow best under the canopy of tropical rainforests, seldom
reaching more than 7.5 metres (25 feet) high. To flourish they need to be shaded from direct sun and
wind, particularly in the early growth stages.
Two methods are generally used to establish cocoa tree plantations.
Young trees are interspersed with new permanent or temporary shade trees such as coconut, plantains and
bananas, following the clear-felling of the forest.
Cocoa trees begin to bear fruit when they are three to four years old. They produce pink and white flowers
throughout the year, growing in abundance after before the rain starts. However the pods grow straight
out of the trunk and the main branches.
Each tree yields 20-30 pods per year. It takes the whole year's crop from one tree to make 450gms of
Chocolate.

Cocoa Pods & Beans

The cocoa tree bears two harvests of cocoa pods per year. Around 20cm in length and 500gms in weight,
the pods ripen to a rich, golden-orange colour.
Within each pod there are 20-40 purple, 2cm long cocoa beans covered in a sweet white pulp

Types Of Cocoa Pods

There are three broad types of cocoa - Forastero and Criollo, as well as Trinitario, a hybrid of the two.
Within these types there are several varieties.

Harvesting and Splitting Cocoa Pods

The harvesting of cocoa pods is very labour-intensive.

The pods are split open by hand and the seeds or beans, which are covered with a sweet white pulp or
mucilage, are removed ready to undergo the two-part curing process - fermentation and drying. This
prepares the beans for market and is the first stage in the development of the delicious chocolate flavour.
Processing the Cocoa Beans

Fermentation
Processing cocoa beans ready for chocolate making involves six main steps:

Fermentation
During fermentation the cocoa pulp clinging to the beans matures and turns into a liquid, which drains
away and the true chocolate flavour starts to develop.
Fermentation methods vary considerably from country to country, but there are two basic methods - using
heaps and "sweating" boxes.
The heap method, traditionally used on farms in West Africa, involves piling wet cocoa beans,
surrounded by the pulp, on banana or plantation leaves spread out in a circle on the ground. The heap is
covered with more leaves and left for 5-6 days, regularly turned to ensure even fermentation.
In large plantations in the West Indies, Latin America and Malaysia, strong wooden boxes with drainage
holes or gaps in the slats in the base are used, allowing air and liquid to pass through. This process takes
6-8 days during which time the beans are mixed twice.
In Nigeria, cocoa is fermented in baskets lined and covered with leaves.
Drying and bagging
When fermentation is complete, the wet mass of beans is dried, either traditionally by being spread in the
sun on mats or using special drying equipment.
Winnowing
The dried beans are cracked and a stream of air separates the shell from the nib, the small pieces used to
make chocolate.
Roasting
The nibs are roasted in special ovens at temperatures between 105-120 degrees Celsius. The actual
roasting time depends on whether the end use is for cocoa or chocolate. During roasting, the cocoa nibs
darken to a rich, brown colour and acquire their characteristic chocolate flavour and aroma. This flavour
however, actually starts to develop during fermentation.
Grinding
The roasted nibs are ground in stone mills until the friction and heat of the milling reduces them to a thick
chocolate-coloured liquid, known as 'mass.' It contains 53-58% cocoa butter and solidifies on cooling.
This is the basis of all chocolate and cocoa products.
Pressing
The cocoa mass is pressed in powerful machines to extract the cocoa butter, vital to making chocolate.
The solid blocks of compressed cocoa remaining after extraction (presscake) are pulverised into a fine
powder to produce a high-grade cocoa powder for use as a beverage or in cooking.
The cocoa mass, cocoa butter and cocoa powder are then quality inspected and shipped to our factories in
Australia and New Zealand, ready to be made into chocolate.
What is Chocolate
Chocolate - Food of the Gods

The origins of chocolate can be traced back to the ancient Mayan and Aztec civilisations in Central
America. 'Theobroma cacao', meaning 'food of the gods', was prized for centuries by the Central
American Mayan Indians, who first enjoyed a much-prized spicy drink called 'chocolatl', made from
roasted cocoa beans.
The Aztecs introduced cocoa to the Spaniards, who took it back to Europe in the 16th century. However it
was very expensive, so only the rich could afford it. Chocolate was exclusively for drinking until the early
Victorian times when a technique for making solid 'eating' chocolate was devised.

Throughout its history, whether as a cocoa drinking chocolate or confectionery treat, chocolate has always
been much sought after. Modern chocolate manufacturing allowed more people to buy chocolate .

The flavour of chocolate differs depending on the ingredients used and how it is prepared. Real chocolate
is made from cocoa and its ingredients include cocoa butter (an expensive part of the cocoa bean) and, in
some cases, up to 5% vegetable fat. Compound chocolate will have less cocoa and/or more than 5%
vegetable fat than real chocolate and therefore doesn't have the same fine qualities.
Cocoa powder and chocolate are made from the dried seeds that are found in pods on the cacao tree.
Chocolate production is a complex process that begins with the harvesting of cocoa trees.