primary processing: stage 1
Cocoa pod
Cocoa and chocolate both come from cocoa beans which grow in pods on cocoa trees (Theobroma cacao).
West Africa is a major producer of cocoa beans, especially Ghana and the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire). Malaysia, Indonesia, the Republic of Cameroon, Nigeria, Brazil and Ecuador have also become significant producers.
Each cocoa pod contains 30–40 beans covered by a sweet, white pulp. The pods are harvested (removed from the trees) by hand. Farmers cut the pods from the cocoa trees with knives attached to poles. The pods are then split open using wooden mallets and the beans removed and fermented or cured, which helps to develop the beans’ chocolate flavour.
After drying, the fermented beans are weighed and packed into sacks for sale and then transported by ship to Liverpool. Strict quality control tests take place when the cocoa beans are bought from the farmers and during transportation to ensure high standards.
Fermenting or curing cocoa beans develops their flavour
