Cocoa and Coffee

This chapter focuses on the more comprehensive role of fermentation in cocoa curing and to a lesser extent on the role of fermentation in the production of coffee. The two principal objectives of fermentation are to remove mucilage, thus provoking aeration during fermentation of the beans and facilitating drying later on; and to provide heat and acetic acid necessary for inhibiting germination, which ensures proper curing of the beans. Approximately one-half of the world crop is fermented in some type of box, and the remaining half is fermented by using heaps or other primitive methods. The progress of the fermentation is assessed by the odor and the external and internal color changes in the beans. Fermentation begins immediately after beans are removed from the pods, as they become inoculated with a variety of microorganisms from the pod surface, knives, laborers’ hands, containers that are used to transport the beans to the fermentary, dried mucilage on surfaces of the fermentation box (tray, platform, or basket) from the previous fermentation, insects, and banana or plantain leaves. The actual production of chocolate flavor precursors occurs within the cocoa bean and is primarily the result of biochemical changes that take place during fermentation and drying. There are several environmental factors: pH, temperature, and moisture, in the fermenting mass that influence cocoa bean enzyme reactions. Coffee and cocoa are no exceptions, and it is the proper control of the fermentation process that largely determines the color and flavor qualities of the final products.

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