335 www.iccadubai.ae Collecting the Pods The pods (Cocoa fruits) have to be cut from the trees with the help of large steel knives. They are then collected in baskets and taken to be opened. Once split open the beans and pulp are scooped out. Inside the pods are between 20 and 50 plump almond shaped seeds surrounded by the whitish pulp. These seeds are the precious cocoa beans. At first the beans are creamy white in colour but as they are exposed to the air they changed to purple. Fermentation The pulp and the seeds are put into large heaps either on the ground or in the boxes or the baskets (sweat boxes), where the temperature is allowed to raise 40-50° C. The white pulp ferments and produces alcohol and then acetic acid. The fermentation is stopped as soon as the mass of the beans passes in to the acid stage. The process takes about two to six days. The beans turn brown and become separated from the pulp. There are several reasons for the fermentation. • To kill the germ. • Prevents the germination of the seed and decomposition of the bean itself • To improve enzyme reaction to help in the reducing of bitterness and developing of flavour. Drying the Beans This is done either by laying the beans out in the sun for two or three days and occasionally turning them over or by passing them through a mechanical drying chamber. When completely dried the beans should have a moisture content of less than 4%. Cleaning It is necessary to clean cocoa beans after delivery to remove any earth fragents or broken beans and other foreign matter that may be present. Beans from the storage hoppers should travel over a conveyor belt and have current air flow to remove the lighter material. They should then be passed to high energy vibratory screens of different mesh size which incorporate hot air of predetermined velocity, should then be blown through meshed conveyor belts that cause the beans to float, leaving behind any heavier contaminants. Roasting This stage is essential to develop the flavour and aroma of the bean and give it an even colour. Suitable roasting temperature is 114° C to 140° C. A short roast for 20 minutes at 200° C may give a better product than longer but lower temperature conditions. Five changes occur during the roasting of cocoa beans • Development of flavouring components which enhance both cocoa taste and aroma. • Textural changes in the shell. • Development of colour • Removal of moisture • Chemical changes in the bean constituents Winnowing The purpose of winnowing is to separate the shell and germ and to split the cocoa bean into its natural segments (cocoa nibs)Cocoa beans are first cracked. Then air is passed to blow
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