About Chocolate | Cocoa Plant

Many website readers have expressed an interest in knowing a little bit about the nature of the cocoa plant. I have compiled a brief description of the process that should give you some more information than you presently have. The information used is primarily provided through the Cocoa Barry Institute – a leader in chocolate development and research – particularly the French masters P. Bertrand and P. Marand. Due to the global company merger, the institute is now named Barry-Callebaut.

The cocoa tree requires the shade of its neighbours to grow, spread and reach maturity. (Some very expensive chocolates describe themselves as “shade grown”. Uh Huh! Caveat Emptor!) Normally the popular trees are lemon, banana, and erythrina. Of the different types of cocoa trees, only one is cultivated – the Theobroma cacao linnea. In plantations the height does not exceed 5- meters, and it produces for 25 to 30 years. It must grow in a constantly humid climate with temperatures averaging 25 C (77 F) throughout the year. For these reasons it is cultivated within 20 degrees either side of the equator.

The tree is naturally susceptible to all sort of parasites, insects, and fungus making harvest extremely unpredictable. (It also challenges the producers of the “organic” chocolates.)

The cocoa trees leaves are constantly growing resembling the jagged European Chestnut leaves. The flowering is also constant on trees over three years of age, producing tiny white-pinkish flowers about 8 mm (0.3”) in diameter. The flowers grow all over the tree – on the small branches and the trunk. Only about 1% of the flowers is pollinated and develops into a pod, a process that takes between 5 and 7 months. This pod is like a large oval shaped fruit that changes colour as it matures, going from green and purple to orange. The inside is filled with pulp that contains a high amount of mucilage (sugar) and in which lie five lines containing the bean. The average pod weighs 400 to 500 grams (14 oz. to 1.1 pounds) but some can reach 1,000 grams. The pod usually contain between 30 and 40 beans, each weighing about 10 grams (0.4 oz).

The beans each contain two cotyledons (nibs). They contain all the properties of the future cocoa: they are rich in fat (about 50%), but also in tannins and polyphenol (7%), glucose (12%), protein (10%), fibre (17%), and finally caffeine and theobromine (the two active agents that will be discussed at some future time when discussing the “stimulating” elements of chocolate), mineral salts and trace elements.

The pods are harvested twice a year between October and February (about 85%) and between May and July. The yield is generally 300 to 400 kg (660 to 880 lbs) per hectare.

There are a number of varieties within the cultivated species – the Criollo, Forastero, and Trinitario. The Criollo are cultivated in Central America and in some parts of Asia. The have red or green pods that are long and pointed The beans are not especially bitter and they have a delicate aroma, all which favour the use of this variety in luxury chocolate. The tree is fragile and vulnerable to insect and disease. To-day this type represents 5-8% of global production.

The Trinitario are a hybrid of the Criollo and the Forastero found in Trinidad and the Equatorial zone. The cocoa extracted from their beans is rich in fat and has a similar delicate aroma as the Criollo. They represent about 20 % of the global market.

Finally, the Forastero makes up the largest portion of the global market (70%). Originally from the Amazon, they are mainly cultivated in Western Africa, Brazil, and the Equator. The cocoa from their beans is bitter and slightly acidic.

With the different varieties available, the different beans, or nibs, are combined to the processors own recipes to produce their chocolate. The recipes and the type of chocolate have become in recent times bragging points for the “sophisticated” connoisseur of chocolate.

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