Harvesting Cocoa Beans
Flowers and Fruit
Less than five percent of cocoa flowers will produce fruit. The fruits
of the cocoa tree are oval-shaped pods, 8 to 14 inches long, ranging in
color from yellow or green to red or violet. The football-shaped pods
grow directly from the trunk and main branches of the tree - not from
stems like apples, oranges and other familiar fruits. It takes 5-6 months
for the pods to grow and ripen. Unlike trees in the Northern Hemisphere,
where fruit ripens at the same time every year, cocoa flowers and fruit
can grow side by side on the same tree.
COCOA FLOWERS |
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COCOA PODS |
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COCOA PODS & FLOWERS growing side by side |
Harvesting
On small family farms around the world, cocoa farmers harvest the ripe pods by hand, just as they've done for more than a thousand years.
COCOA PODS are harvested by hand. |
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COCOA BEANS are actually the seeds inside the cocoa pods. |
VIDEO: How Cocoa Is Harvested (30 Sec.)
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Fermentation and Drying
Raw cocoa beans are fermented for about five days. The seeds undergo biochemical changes during this time. (Photo: Allen Young). |
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Fermented cocoa beans. During fermentation, flavor develops, bitterness subsides, and the seeds turn a rich shade of brown. |
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Dried cocoa beans are bagged and ready for shipment. |
VIDEO: How Cocoa Is Fermented and Dried (1 Min.)
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