Cocoa beans are high in a variety of vital elements that can aid with overall health. Cocoa beans, on the other hand, must go through a lengthy harvesting procedure.
Cocoa beans come from the Cacao tree (also known as “Theobroma Cacao”) (botanical name). Cacao plants produce a petite, pink-colored blossom with a characteristic slender shape. Despite the fact that a cacao tree might contain hundreds of blossoms, only around 5% of these flowers produce cocoa pods. Cacao pods are quite huge and have a 3cm thick rind. A rich, delicious pulp encases 30-50 cocoa beans inside the rind. These almond-shaped beans come in a variety of colours ranging from pink to purple to light brown.
k cups hot chocolate are traditionally plucked from cacao trees with a curved machete or a big knife. Cacao pods are only ready to harvest when they are green in colour, unlike many other fruit-bearing plants. If a cacao pod is red or orange in hue, it indicates that the beans are of poor grade. Because the flavour is not as rich as green cacao pods, these inferior cacao pods are normally mainly utilised for industrial chocolate goods.
The cacao pod’s rind is removed, but the pulp and seeds are left intact. The cacao pod pulp is mixed with the seeds and placed on a grate or in a huge container. The pulp and beans are kept together for several days, allowing the pulp to ferment. This step in the cocoa bean manufacturing is termed “sweating” and is extremely significant. The cocoa pod pulp ferments and turns into a liquid. This liquid aids the bitterness of cacao beans, resulting in the refined cocoa flavour we are all familiar with. A cocoa bean that has not been sweated retains a raw potato flavour.
The cocoa beans are stretched out to dry after they have been “sweated.” This is done by spreading the beans out on huge trays and drying them in the sun (or artificial heat). To be completely dried, the beans must be scraped on a regular basis. Artificial heat drying typically leaves behind oil, smoke, or propellant tastes, therefore sun-dried cocoa beans maintain the greatest flavour. The cocoa beans are dried and prepped for export before being utilised in cocoa producing plants all around the world.
