Cocoa harvesting is a fine art, as well as a science. You need the right timing, and the right experiences to recognize great cacao pods. Hence, eighty percent of cocoa pods are collected between October and March worldwide even though the plant itself flowers and produces fruit year-round.

There is a science, and method to harvesting the pods. You don’t want to damage them. When removing the fruits from the tree, care must be taken to avoid injuring the orchic-like flowers or the unripened seed pods. In both South America and Africa, long poles with an L-shaped knife tied to the end of the pole are used to remove the seed pods. The areas where the fruits are removed are then covered so that new flowers may appear.

Five or six months after fertilization, the fruits are mature. This is fairly easy to tell in the green varieties (which become yellow) and the red varieties (which become orange). However, with the purple pods, it is difficult to judge the degree of maturity. Maturity can also be judged by shaking the fruit; mature fruits make a distinctive sound. Over-ripe fruits do not fall from the tree, but they begin to germinate immediately when harvested.

Harvests present grand variation in both quality and quantity worldwide. For this reason, manufacturers prefer to mix different strains of cocoa beans from different regions in order to obtain uniform results in their products.

Small plantations, such as the ones in Mexico, may produce between 200 and 700 kilos per hectare (2.47 acres). The largest plantations, such as those in Malaysia, produce up to 3 tons per hectare. Nevertheless, the cocoa beans grown in Mexico are among the most prized in the world for their exquisite flavor-and the most expensive.

Technorati : cocao pods, cocoa harvesting, malaysiain cocoa beans, mexican cocoa beans
Ice Rocket : cocao pods, cocoa harvesting, malaysiain cocoa beans, mexican cocoa beans

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The other day I was driving in town. It was 5:30 in the morning, I was late for work. I driving a bit fast, (54 miles in a 35 mile zone). The f**king cop was going the opposite direction. Cop turned around, and f**king pulled me over. That was f**king ridiculous. I wasn’t hurting anyone, and I was the only car on the road. The cop was just busting my chops, and meeting quota. What a f**king asshole that cop was.

What does this have to do with cocoa trees? Actually absolutely nothing. I just wanted to tell the story to get this off my chest. On second thought, I’ll have a cup a of hot chocolate to calm down, so I can tell you about cocoa tree.

The cocoa tree is a member of the family of Sterculiaceas (Genus: Theobroma; Species: Cacao) which is characterized by a deep central root with flowers and seed pods which form on the stalks of the tree. The cocoa tree can grow to 20 feet high though in plantations it doesn’t surpass 8 feet. The trunk has 5 principal branches with minor branches opening in the shape of a fan. The leaves are green ovals 11 inches long offering a heavy shade. The tree begins to flower in its fifth year and is fully productive by its tenth year. Less than 5% of its 100,000 flowers are pollinated. On the same tree, both mature and green fruits may appear.

The most common variety of cocoa grown today is the Forastero variety, originally from the Amazon River Valley, grown in Africa and Asia. It is hardier and yields more than the preferred Criollo variety, originally from Ecuador and Venezuela. This variety now grows in rainy, higher altitudes of Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean Islands and the northern part of South America. The Criollo variety is difficult to grow. It is vulnerable to environmental threats and has a low yield. Other varieties include the Trinidad hybrid, cundeamor, angoleta, amelonado, consumo and calabacillo. These varieties are less preferred and generally strong and bitter.

The Criollo variety grown in Mexico is especially prized for its flavor. It is considered delicate with little of the classic chocolate flavor, but rich in an after-taste of long duration. It is nicknamed ‘Noble Cocoa’ and is the most expensive.

Hey by the way, I was glad to have given this lesson on cocoa trees. I feel better already.


tags: noble cocoa, cocoa tree, Sterculiaceae, Forastero, Criollo, hot chocolate

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As we know a cocoa bean has to undergo a lot of processes before it can be called chocolate. Industrial chocolate making process includes several complex operations for the development of flavor and texture. Chocolate is first mixed and grounded to give a mixture of the correctly sized particles. The production and structuring of the solid material prior to molding involves a further complex step, which is called tempering, in which the chocolate is heated and sheared prior to its final solidification.

But, how does chocolate get its shape? Using the process of chocolate casting and solidification. Different types of shapes are produced commercially: bars or blocks, in which chocolate is poured into molds and set. Chocolate coating is applied on the inner sides and filled with chocolates (bonbons, “sweets��?), which consist of a molded chocolate shell and a surrounding a center.

The first step is to fill a cold mold with hot melted chocolate. It is then inverted to leave a shell of the desired thickness. Next, the center material is then poured in to fill the shell. The third step is another layer of chocolate is added above the filling to form the base of the sweet. Finally the mold is inverted, and the sweet falls out of the mold.

Many problems can occur during this process. The incorrect control of the initial process can result in a shell that is too thick or too thin. The hot center material can melt or burn through the shell and cause a leak of the filling, the base can fall off, if it is not properly fixed to the rest of the sweet.


tags: chocolate, solidification, casting, chocolate making

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