All About Cocoa Beans

South America, Birthplace of the Cocoa Bean

According to old Mexican legend, Quetzalcoatl, the feathered snake god, gave mankind the cocoa tree or 'cacahuaquahitl' as a new source of pleasure.  Cocoa played an important role in life of the Aztecs, Toltecs, Mayas, and Incas, who believed the coca bean had magical powers.

Theobroma Cacao is the scientific name for the cocoa bean.  A combination of the Greek word 'theobroma' which literally means the food of the gods, and the old Aztec word 'cacahuatl' which became simply cocoa in the tongue of the Spanish invaders.

The Mayas were the first to cultivate the cocoa bean for its fruits.  Not only were the beans an ingredient in their favorite chocolate drink, 'xocotlatl', but, because of their great value, they were also a popular means of exchange.  For ten beans one could by a rabbit, and 100 beans were enough for a healthy slave.

Where do Cocoa Trees grow Today ?

Before the cocoa tree was only found in the Amazon basin.  During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries cultivation spread to the Philippines and West Indies.  In the nineteenth century the cocoa tree was also grown in West Africa.

Today, it grows mainly in West Africa, more particularly in the Ivory coast, Ghana, and Nigeria, while about 20% still comes from Central and South America with Brazail and Ecuador as the main suppliers.  The rest comes from Asia, with Malaysia and Indonesia, as the largest producers.

All of the cocoa producing areas are centered around the equator and this is no coincidence as the cocoa tree needs very high temperatures and levels of humidity.

The Cocoa Tree and Beans

The cocoa tree is tall and thin.  In the wild it can grow up to 60 feet in height, but it only grows to 15-30 feet when cultivated.  The trunk and branches of the tree are adorned with white and pink flowers year round.  Only 5% of the trees produce fruit, and each produces a maximum of about thirty fruits a year.

When you look between the blossoms of the permanently flowering tree, you can see fruit at various stages.  The fruit is egg-shaped and measures between 6 an 12 inches.  It hangs from the trunk and largest branches, on stems no longer than an inch. Each fruit contains between 30 and 40 beans of about a half inch in length.

Harvesting, Fermenting and Drying Process

After about four months the cocoa fruits are ripe and cut from the tree.  They need one more week to ripen fully and only then are they opened.  The skin between the beans is peeled of and the beans are left to ferment in large piles on the ground or in chests, and are then covered with banana leaves.

The yeasts and bacteria now take over and convert the sugar in the pulp surrounding each bean to alcohol and carbon dioxide, and finally to acetic acid.  Fermentation takes between 2 and 9 days depending on the type of bean.  During this time the beans are continually turned over so that they ferment evenly.  The fermentation process gives the beans color and flavor.

Before they can be shipped the beans must first be dried.  They are placed on wooden boards or bamboo mats and exposed to the sun for about two weeks.  Once dried the beans are packed into large bags and stored.  The beans are then shipped and traded on the international market.