Subject: Harvesting Cacao

The majority of the cacao harvested during the last fifty years has been of the Forastero or low grade Trinitarios varieties;

only 5% per year comes from the higher end Trinitarios and Criollos. While modern technology has been introduced into the harvesting process of Cacao, there are still major processes that must be followed.

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The cacao pods which surround the beans and the sweet white pulp are harvested, (the cacao tree has no natural ability to spread the cacao beans in order to propagate), in nature this is dealt with by rodents (squirrels, rats and monkeys) on plantations, this process is dealt with by humans. The sweet white pulp is what the rodents are actually looking for, as a rule they leave the bitter beans alone. The beans and pulp are removed from the pods and left to ferment in bins or piles for somewhere between three and seven days.

After fermentation it is necessary to dry them quickly to avoid growth of mold, this is done by spreading them in the sun whenever possible and if the weather permits it.

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The next step is to roast the beans at a very high temperature over a short period of time.

After being graded and ground the cocoa butter (or fat) is removed, the remaining liquid is called chocolate liquor. There are two methods of removing the cocoa butter from the beans:

· The Broma process was discovered by Domingo Ghirardelli in 1865, he noticed that when you hand a bag of ground cacao beans in a warm room, the gat (cocoa butter) would drip off, the remaining residue is what is used to make ground cocoa. It is the common method of cocoa and chocolate production in America. This method extracts a better quality of cocoa butter than the process of pressing. The taste is also more intense as no alkalis are added to the process.

· The Dutch process was developed by Coenraad Johannes van Houten around 1828, his system treat the cocoa with and alkalizing agent then it is pressed with a hydraulic press, which changes it color and gives it a less bitter flavor. Most of todays candies are made using the press method.

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Thank you,

Bill Anderson
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