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3 Production of Chocolate
Cultivation of Cacao
Cacao trees only grow in the tropical climates 15 degrees either side of the equator, they require a fair amount of shade particularly in their first four years as they are delicate and need protection from the wind and sun. Cacao seedlings are planted in fiber baskets or plastic bags in nurseries, and then within a few months they are ready for transplanting, container and all. Newly planted seedlings are always shaded by "Cacao mother" trees. There are many varieties of shade providing trees including, banana, plantain, coconut palms, rubber trees, leguminous plants, lemon and baobab trees.
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After about two years, the first blossoms, delicate pink sepals and yellowish-white petals begin to appear. These are edibile and were traditionally used in the preparation of sacred beverages by the Aztecs. In fertile soil conditions and with intensive husbandry, cacao trees can grow in full sunlight once they are established. |
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Cacao plantations and estates are usually located in valleys or coastal plains, and must have evenly distributed rainfall, and rich, well-drained soil.
A mature tree has 50,000 or even 100,000 blossoms in one year, though most of these blossoms will not produce fruit. Indeed, less than 10% mature into full fruit.
The trees of most cacao strains will begin bearing fruit in their fifth to eighth year. With extreme care, some strains can be induced to yield good crops in the third and fourth years. The cacao tree is an evergreen with large glossy leaves that are red when young.
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Fruit pods that do develop are often football-shaped. They can be any of a vast palette of colours including, green, maroon, yellow, purple, cream or orange. These pods grow on the trunk of the tree as well as on its main branches, with each pod containing 20 to 40 almond-shaped cacao beans enveloped in white fruit pulp and arranged in five rows. |
Cacao trees cross-pollinate freely. In the Western Hemisphere, there are few plantations that have just one species of cacao because of this natural cross-pollination between trees. Even within a single tree you may find the characteristics of several varieties. Uniformity exists only when plantations have been developed using the rooted branch cuttings of a single mother tree.
Harvesting
Cacao harvesters or pickers are called Tumbadores and their job is a challenging one due to the position of the pods on the tree trunk in combination with the trees delicate bark and shallow roots. Harvesting is a delicate proposition requiring skill and precision to remove pods using a specially designed machete or long handled knife. Any slip by the Tumbadores could wound the tree, potentially leading to disease or death of the tree.
Similar to the change in color that signals the ripening of red wine grapes, cacao pods turn bright red, orange or yellow at the peak of ripeness. There is a main harvest season lasting several months, and a mid-crop harvest lasting several more months. Climatic differences mean wide variations in harvest times, with frequent fluctuations from year to year even within the same location.
Their native location in the tropics means Cacao trees bare fruit three or four times a year and they are in leaf continuously. Blossoms, unripe fruit [pods] and also mature ripe fruit can be seen on the branches simultaneously.
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Cacao pods are usually thick walled, requiring a strong blow to crack them open. The pod breaker requires skill and precision to ensure none of the precious beans are damaged during this operation. |
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Fermentation
The fermentation process is critical to the production of high quality raw cacao. Fermentation triggers a process that kills the germ of the cacao seed and ensures it develops the complex chocolatey flavours we all love. The beans are usually covered with a layer of pulp from the pods followed by Banana or Plantain leaves. The covering starts to heat up, generating temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius, fermenting the beans. The larger heaps are turned over several times to ensure even fermentation.
The edible sugar-containing fruit pulp is broken down by fermentation, and dissolves into a vinegary solution that runs away. Fermentation lasts from two to nine days depending on the variety of bean. Fermentation of different varieties of bean together can lead to over or under fermentation for a portion of the batch. Criollos need to ferment for about two days. Forasteros and Trinitarios can take up to a week or longer. The timing is crucial: the beans that ferment too long may impart a flavour of rotting fruit, beans that have been pulled from the pulp too quickly may impart a flavour of burnt plastic or rubber.
Drying
After fermentation, the raw cacao bean is still about 60% water. To ensure their preservation for sale, the beans are dried. The best method is drying in the sun on trays or mats, and requires constant turned using shovels or trowels.
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However, the location of cultivation in the tropics means the weather often intervenes in the process. Artificial methods of drying beans include hot pipes, wood or kerosene fires. The method of drying can impart additional flavours that can be favourable or unfavourable. |
During drying, beans lose nearly all their moisture and more than half their weight. They take on a browner colouring and the aroma becomes more pronounced. With favourable weather the drying process usually takes several days. In this interval, farmers turn the beans frequently and use the opportunity to pick them over for foreign matter and flat, broken or germinated beans.
The knowledgeable buyers sample the quality of the beans before purchasing them. Only the "exclusive" high end chocolate manufacturers like Valrhona and Amedei buy beans at the plantation, some of them exclusively. The majority of beans, after fermentation, drying and cleaning are placed in sacks. Government inspectors visit the plantation and take a large sample from the sacks. They split the beans lengthwise and classify them by grades -- "fine grade," "second grade," and "third grade" are determined by the color of the beans and the completeness of the fermentation. In general, cacao beans are purchased at the country of origin by private import-export traders or international brokerages or exchanges; the beans are then sold to negotiators, who supply various chocolate manufacturers.
Buyers look for specific characteristics depending upon the use they have in mind. Most chocolates are blended, so the buyer may look for a number of different beans to embue a well rounded flavour profile in the end product. This might mean using common beans for a chocolatety base and flavour beans to capture more complex flavour notes.
Cleaning
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Once ready to turn raw beans into chocolate, the manufacturer will clean them with specialized equipment to remove any debris accumulated from growing, transport or storage. Traditionally this was done by sprinkling the beans with water and “dancing” on them in a similar way to the traditional method of crushing grapes for wine. |
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Roasting
Much like coffee, cacao beans are roasted to release their flavour. Traditionally this was done in a rotating drum over a fire or other heat source. Large scale manufacturers have specialized equipment that ensures this process is easily repeatable. The beans are sorted to ensure the roasting process is even, and then roasted for 10 to 35 minutes depending on the types of flavours desired. A darker more bitter chocolate will require a longer roast, whereas a chocolate with more finesse might require a shorter roast.
The roasting temperature may also vary slightly, with ordinary grade beans (predominantly Forastero) roasting at 120 to 130 degrees Celsius while fine flavour beans (Criollo or Trinitario) beans might roast below 120 degrees Celsius. As with coffee, a specialist producer can greatly influence the art of chocolate making during the roasting process.
Cracking and grinding
Beans are cooled after roasting and the hard outer shell is cracked open, often using large rollers. Once the shell pieces are removed all that is left are the nibs. Nibs are then ground to release the fat contents of the cells, this produces cocoa liquor. Warm liquor is heated and compressed to remove most of the fat, which is used to produce cocoa butter. The residual cocoa is finely ground and pressed into cakes and used to form cocoa powder. This powder is then alkalized to allow it to be soluble in water.
Making chocolate
The cocoa liquor is ground further with sugar, and other ingredients (like milk powder for milk chocolate) to ensure a smooth texture. If nibs are ground to a particle size of less than 0.2 mm the human tongue can no longer distinguish them as individual particles. This determines whether a chocolate feels smooth or gritty on the palate.
Conching
The cocoa liquor is kneaded and worked for a substantial amount of time to further improve its flow qualities. Cocoa butter is added and a further round of conching occurs. Conching can last for a few hours to a few days depending upon the equipment used and the quality of the raw materials.
Tempering
After conching, the chocolate will be between 45 to 55 degrees Celsius. Its temperature will be reduced to 28 degrees Celsius and then reheated to 32 degrees Celsius. Tempered chocolate will be shiny with a familiar snap and texture, and will also keep its smooth and shiny appearance longer. The chocolate is now ready to be poured into a mould and packaged.