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| Ecabossage Process | |
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After opening, 20 to 30 beans are extracted from the pod. The beans, which have no particular flavor, are coated with a white pulp with a sweet and acidulous taste; the mucilage. |
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| In the past, this pulp was consumed by the Mayas who saved the beans to use as money. | |
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10 pods will provided 1 kg of fresh beans, which will provide approximately 500 g of chocolate with 70% cocoa, after transformation. |
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| Fermentation | |
| After the ecabossage process, which consists in extracting the cocoa beans from the pod, the planters accomplish the fermentation and drying steps in a traditional and natural manner. The fermentation process is decisive in the production of high quality raw cocoa. It is essential since it allows for the development of "aroma precursor" molecules, which play a decisive role in elaborating the taste of the chocolate. The technique varies depending on the growing region. | |
| Drying | |
| After fermentation, the raw cocoa still contains far too much water; in fact about 60%. Most of this has to be removed. What could be more natural than to spread the beans out to dry on the sun-soaked ground or on mats? The secret of a good chocolate also comes from drying in the sun, not in a machine. After a week or so, all but a small percentage of the water has evaporated. | |
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© 2004 The Chocolate Information Center. All rights
reserved.
This page was last modified on 22 September 2004.
This page was last modified on 22 September 2004.