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COCOA: the food of the Gods.
THEOBROMA CACAO is the scientific name that Carlo Von Linné gave to the cocoa tree.
From the Latin: THEO (God) and BROMA (food). The food of the Gods.
The cocoa tree grows and bears fruit in tropical climates. The cocoa seeds contained within the Cabossa, which is harvested by hand by the local farmers, are first freed from the mucilage that envelops them and then they undergo a fermentation process, a process similar to that of grapes. This is of fundamental importance as it determines the final taste of the cocoa, which can take on complex aromatic and intense fruity flavours with various degrees of sweetness. The drying process puts an end to the fermentation and is very important for the conservation of the cocoa as it reduces the humidity to 7-8%, hence allowing it to be preserved.
These delicate steps allow the cocoa to develop and release aromas. It is therefore important to have a good understanding of the varieties of beans used for the transformation process into chocolate.
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The cocoa tree
From a botanical point of view the cocoa tree belongs to the Sterculiaceae family. It is evergreen with a height that varies from 5-7 metres up to 12-15 metres. It is a CAULIFLOROUS plant, which means that its fruits grow from the trunk or from the larger branches unlike other common fruit bearing plants. The trunk and the branches are smooth of a green/grey colour. The flowers, which are without scent, are produced in large quantities twice per year but only 1% to 3% of these will bear fruit.
The cocoa tree is furthermore a very delicate plant which does not like direct sunlight or sudden temperature changes. In fact, it grows in climates where rainfall is abundant and where the humidity varies between 70% and 100%, typical of tropical countries, and where the temperature is constant in the range of 18° to 32°. It bears fruit throughout the year but the main harvests are carried out twice per year. Depending on the variety, production varies between 300 Kg/hectare for CRIOLLO, or very delicate varieties, and can reach levels of 1500 Kg/hectare for intensive varieties such as FORASTERO or some hybrids derived from this variety. A cocoa plantation has rather small harvests when compared to other types of cultivations.
The CABOSSA
The CABOSSA is the oval fruit of the cocoa tree, measuring 15cm to 30cm in length and having a colour that varies between green and pale red whilst it is maturing, turning to an intense yellow or orange or purple colour when mature, depending on the type and the geographic area in which it is being cultivated. Maturity is reached 6 months after flowering. Very competent workers harvest the fruit manually by means of a machete, taking great care not to damage the flowers or gems nearby so as not to compromise the productivity of the tree. The fruit contains within it between 25 and 50 cocoa seeds wrapped in mucilage and attached to the placenta.
The Cabossa is made up of
THE EXTERNAL PEEL
PLACENTA
The central line to which all the cocoa beans are attached. It disintegrates during the fermentation process.
MUCILAGE
Pulp which coats and protects the cocoa seeds and responsible for the transformation of the sugars during the fermentation phase.
COCOA SEEDS
COCOA varieties
According to validated theories, the first cocoa trees originated in the Amazon rainforest and two genetic varieties developed over two thousand years ago, one in the Venezuelan Andes and the other in the Brazilian Amazon, giving origin to the two oldest varieties: the CRIOLLO and the FORASTERO.
The genetic union of these two gave birth to the first hybrid variety in history: TRINITARIO.
CRIOLLO
The word CREOLO, from which the name originates, has Portuguese origins and means INDIGENOUS. This is the rarest, most precious and noble of the three varieties but also has the lowest production, around 3% of the world cocoa production. This is due to the plant being fragile and delicate and easily attacked by parasites and fungi. This oldest cocoa ever cultivated by man has a very strong scent, is very aromatic with a persistent and sweet taste to the palate. It produces long fruits with a characteristic parrot beak shape at the tip. Each fruit generates within it between 20 and 40 white seeds.
FORASTERO
This is the most commonly cultivated and commercialised variety in the world as it grows on a robust tree resistant to attacks from parasites and has a high yield.
These varieties, as previously mentioned, have, over the course of centuries, given birth to hybrids which are called TRINITARIO: this is a hybrid cocoa plant which originates from the union of the Criollo and Forastero varieties and benefits from aromatic properties which are a combination of the parent varieties. It originates from the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean, it is a robust plant with a high yield. The cocoa produced from these plants has elevated levels of natural fats contained within the seeds.
From flowering to the harvesting of the COCOA
It takes 4 to 6 months from the flowering to the harvesting of the fruit. It is very important that the farmers are able to determine the ripeness of the fruit and harvest it at the right time: if the Cabossa is detached too early it would not have had enough time to build up the right quantity of essential sugars to allow for a correct fermentation process.
The farmers extract the cocoa seeds from the fruit by hand and transport them to the Fermentation centre; a structure commonly used by a number of different farmers. The process must be carried out within 24/48 hours.
This usually has a duration of 3 to 7 days depending on the origin of the cocoa and on the final desired result. For FORASTERO or for varieties in which one seeks to obtain strong flavours of cocoa, coffee and persistent aromas, the duration varies from 5 to 7 days, whilst for CRIOLLO and more aromatic varieties the process varies from 2 to 5 days and aims to develop more delicate secondary fruity and floral aromas belonging to the beans themselves.
The fermentation techniques can be subdivided into 4 types: IN HEAP, IN BASKET, ON PLATFORMS, IN BOX. The latter is definitively the most widely used to obtain high quality cocoa. The boxes are fitted with holes at the bottom to allow for a correct oxygenation, which is associated to the movement of the product and drainage of the liquified mucilage during the transformation. It is furthermore necessary to move the beans daily in a repetitive manner and following precise methods so as to obtain a higher level of uniformity in the final product.
This delicate BIOCHEMICAL process is divided into three steps: ALCHOHOLIC, LACTIC AND ACETIC FERMENTATION.
To summarise: the mucilage is attacked by micro-organisms, dissolving it. At the end of the process it liquefies, thus freeing the seeds and enhancing their properties, taste and aromas; activating and developing the AROMA PRECURSORS which will then be the final determining factor of the taste of the chocolate.
At the end of the fermentation the beans are removed from the box and laid out to begin the DRYING phase. It is important to note that at this point some chemical and physical transformation processes are still ongoing from the previous phase: the transformation and oxidation of the polyphenols completes when the purple-white colour vanishes from the bean, changing to a brown colour of varying intensity. The most widely used method, which delivers the best results, consists in laying out the beans on wooden drying surfaces. The cocoa is dried for a time varying from 7 days to three weeks, depending on environmental factors amongst which the climatic conditions of the location.
At this point the cleaning and selection of the seeds takes place in order to remove impurities such as broken seeds, foreign bodies, twigs and stones. The cocoa is ready to be placed inside jute sacks and stored in warehouses, ready to be used.
Fermentation
- Occurs in the mucilage
- Is initiated by micro-organisms
- The process begins immediately after the breaking of the fruit
- The aim is to remove the pulp from the exterior part of the fruit.
TRANSFORMATION PROCESS
- Occurs within the fruit
- Is initiated by enzymes
- Occurs immediately after fermentation starts
- Has the aim of developing the aromas and is partially responsible for the brown colour of the cocoa.
COCOA PRODUCTION AROUND THE WORLD
Cocoa originates from Central America and the Amazon.
In the 16th century the European nations introduced cocoa within their colonies. Thanks to this cocoa is now cultivated worldwide within the equatorial belt, which offers optimal climatic conditions for the growth of the cocoa tree. Global annual production is around 3 million tonnes.
Thanks to the work of slaves the cocoa plantations spread throughout all the European colonies across the world. In the early 1800s the Portuguese bring cocoa to Africa, making it the first, and still current, producer in the world. Later on, the Germans and the French also contributed by planting in Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Cameron and New Guinea.
In South America it was the Spanish who were responsible for the spread of cocoa cultivations. The English exported it to the Caribbean and in some colonies in Asia. The Flemish contributed to making producers out of the Philippines, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
Hence within a period of 400 years the cocoa tree colonised entire continents at the equatorial level. The aroma and taste of cocoa is clearly dependent on the geographic area in which it is cultivated, on the climatic conditions and on the minerals and nutrients present in the various types of soils.
Today production is estimated in the following quantities:
0
Europe
0
Africa
0
Central and South America
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