Cocoa bean

Cocoa is the dried and partially fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made. In the United States, 'cocoa' often refers to cocoa powder, the dry powder made by grinding cocoa seeds and removing the cocoa butter from the dark, bitter cocoa solids. By itself it has an extremely bitter flavor.

A pod has a rough leathery rind about 3 cm thick (this varies with the origin of pod). It is filled with sweet, slimy pulp called 'bava de cacao' in South America, enclosing 30 to 50 large almond-like seeds (beans) that are fairly soft and pinkish or purplish in color.

Hot cocoa is often confused with hot chocolate, but hot cocoa is made from the cocoa solids, while true hot chocolate is made from whole chocolate.

History

The cacao tree apparently originated in the foothills of the Andes in the Amazon and Orinoco basins of South America. It was introduced into Central America by the ancient Mayas, and cultivated in Mexico by the Toltecs and later by the Aztecs.

Cocoa was an important commodity in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Spanish chroniclers of the conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés relate that when Moctezuma II, emperor of the Aztecs, dined he took no other beverage than chocolate, served in a golden goblet and eaten with a golden spoon. Flavored with vanilla and spices, his chocolate was whipped into a froth that dissolved in the mouth. No less than 50 pitchers of it were prepared for the emperor each day, and 2000 more for nobles of his court.

Chocolate was introduced to Europe by the Spaniards and became a popular beverage by 1700. They also introduced the cacao tree into the West Indies and the Philippines. It was used in alchemical processes, where it was known as Black Bean.

The cacao plant was first given its name by Swedish natural scientist Carl von Linné (1707-1778), who called it "Theobroma cacao" or "food of the gods".

World Production

Top Cocoa Producers - 2004 (million metric ton)
Ivory Coast	1.33
Ghana	0.74
Indonesia	0.43
Nigeria	0.37
Brazil	0.17
Cambodia	0.13
Ecuador	0.09
World Total	3.6
Source: UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO)[1]

About 3,000,000 tonnes of cocoa are grown each year. The global production was

1,556,484 t in 1974,

1,810,611 t in 1984,

2,672,173 t in 1994,

3,607,052 t in 2004 (record).

This is an increase of 99.2% in 30 years.

The pod itself is green when ready to harvest (rather than red or orange). Normally red or orange pods are considered lesser quality because their flavor and aroma are poorer; they are used for industrial chocolate.

The Netherlands is the leading cocoa processing country, followed by the U.S..

Prices for cocoa reached a five-year high in November 2004 because exports from Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) were likely to decrease due to escalating violence in the region.

Cocoa and its products (including chocolate) are used world-wide. Belgium has the highest per-capita consumption at 5.5 kg, 10 times the world average [2].

Harvesting

When the pods ripen, they are harvested from the trunks and branches of the Cocoa tree with a curved knife on a long pole. The pods are either opened on the field and the seeds extracted and carried to the fermentation area on the plantation, or the whole pods are taken to the fermentation area.

Processing

The harvested pods are opened with a machete, the pulp and cocoa seeds are removed and the rind is discarded. The pulp and seeds are then piled in heaps, placed in bins, or laid out on grates for several days. During this time, the seeds and pulp undergo "sweating", where the thick pulp liquifies as it ferments. The fermented pulp trickles away, leaving cocoa seeds behind to be collected. Sweating is important for the quality of the beans, which originally have a strong bitter taste. If sweating is overdone, the resulting cocoa may be ruined; if underdone the cocoa seed maintains a flavor similar to raw potatoes and becomes susceptible to mildew.

The liquified pulp is used by some cocoa producing countries to distill alcoholic spirits.

Boy collecting cacao
Cacao drying under the sun
Cacao drying square in front of church, Chuao, Venezuela.
Woman drying cacao

The fermented beans are dried by spreading them out over a large surface and constantly raking them. In large plantations, this is done on huge trays under the sun or by using artificial heat. Small plantations may dry their harvest on little trays or on cowhides. Finally, the beans are trodden and shuffled about (often using bare human feet) and sometimes, during this process, red clay mixed with water is sprinkled over the beans to obtain a finer color, polish, and protection against molds during shipment to factories in the United States, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and other countries.

Chocolate production

To make 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of chocolate, about 300 to 600 beans are processed. In a factory, the beans are washed and roasted. Next they are de-hulled by a "nibber" machine that also removes the germ. The nibs are ground between three sets of stones into a thick creamy paste. This "liquor" is converted to cocoa powder by removing part of its fatty oils (the "cocoa butter") using a hydraulic press or the Broma process. With starch and sugar added, the liquor is churned and beaten in a "Conges" machine to produce sweet chocolate. The extracted fatty oils are used in confectionery, soaps, and cosmetics.

Adding an alkali produces Dutch process cocoa powder, which is less acidic, darker and more mellow in flavour than what is generally available in most of the world. Regular (nonalkalized) cocoa is acidic, so when added to an alkaline ingredient like baking soda, the two react and leave a byproduct.

Uses of cocoa

Uses of cocoa beans are numerous. Normally cocoa beans are processed into chocolate powder, after a series of processes such as fermenting, roasting and grinding. Cocoa or chocolate powder is mixed into cakes, ice creams, creams, drinks, beverages and toppings as natural flavour. It is the second most popular flavour after Vanilla on the ice-cream menu globally.

Chocolate powder, is also used to make chocolate chips and chocolate. Chocolate is one of the most popular food in the world. It is also available in liquid form, normally packed in plastic bottles used as toppings for ice-cream and biscuits.

Cocoa has about two times more antioxidants than red wine, and up to three times more than green tea. Antioxidants are scientifically proven to prevent cancer, improve sports performance, and slow cellular aging processes.

Issues with cocoa as a commodity

Many cocoa farmers receive a low price for their production. This has led to many issues such as child slavery and cocoa and chocolate being available as 'fair trade' items in some countries. However this fair trade remains as a tiny percentage of the total trade.
Child slavery has commonly been used in its production to cover the lower profit margin. Some 284,000 children were working in dangerous conditions on West African cocoa farms. Besides the local producers, international food companies share the responsibility in the trafficking, torture and forced labor of children who cultivate and harvest cocoa in Ivory Coast. See Cocoa Protocol for an effort to end this practice.
Pollination is exclusively by midges, which may be affected by pesticides.

External links

International Cocoa Organization
The Food of the Gods - the nature, growth, cultivation, manufacture and history of Cocoa, by Brandon Head, from Project Gutenberg