cacao - university of hawaii · cacao theobroma cacao “food of the gods” maya called prepared...

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Cacao Theobroma cacao “Food of the Gods” Maya called prepared drink from cocoa beans "xocolatl", Aztecs - "cacahuatl"; the Mexican Indian word "chocolate" comes from a combination of the words "choco" ("foam") and "atl" ("water") (early chocolate was only consumed in beverage form). About 1500 BC in lowlands of Gulf of Mexico in America appeared the Olmec civilization. By 1000 BC their word "kakawa" was written which is the sound we use "cacao".

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CacaoTheobroma cacao

“Food of the Gods”

Maya called prepared drink from cocoabeans "xocolatl", Aztecs - "cacahuatl";the Mexican Indian word "chocolate"comes from a combination of thewords "choco" ("foam") and "atl"("water") (early chocolate was onlyconsumed in beverage form).

About 1500 BC in lowlands of Gulf of Mexico inAmerica appeared the Olmec civilization. By 1000 BCtheir word "kakawa" was written which is the soundwe use "cacao".

• Understorey 6-8 msome 12-14 m tree ofrainforest, native toAmazonian Peru.

• Leaves simple,12-60cm long by 4-20 cmwide.

• Two distinct branchtypes- verticals calledchupon and lateralscalled fan branchesform the jorquette.

• Flowersproduced on‘pads’ on trunkand mainbranches.

• Fruit is a fleshy‘pod’ 10 -30 cmlong, 2-4 cmlong by 1-2 cmwide seedscovered withwhite mucilage.

• Pollination is out-crossing via midges,less than 1 % set

• 3 main subspecies:– Criollo - yellow to red, deeply furrowed pods, best

flavor, low yield– Forastero - yellow, less furrowed pods, high yield lower

quality,– Trinitario - hybrid of criollo and forastero

Propagation is by seedfrom pods in varietyblock, rootedcuttings,

wedge graft

or grafting withbuds or shortscions.

Patch bud graft

Planting under shade at 4x4m, though Hawaii islikely to be 3 x 2 mwithout shade. Fertilizer,irrigation and windbreakscan substitute for shade.

Pruning is to train tree tosingle chupons, stoppingat second jorquette and toremove diseased limbs.

Harvest is by hand year-round, higher after endof rainy season (Feb toMay in Hawaii).

Pest and Fungal DiseasesWitches Broom

Black Pod

Frosty PodJapanese RoseBeetle is seriousestablishmentproblem in Hawaii

On-farm processing– Breaking the pod– Seed removal– Dry fermenting– Seed drying

Small Scale Fermentation

Seeds held container over water at 35C3d, then at 45C for 3d, dried at 35C for2 d.

World Production 2004 3.6 M MtAs dried cocoa beans• Cote d’Ivoire 1.3 M Mt• Ghana 0.74 M Mt• Indonesia 0.43 M mtAs ground cocoa beans for cocoa mass, cocoa cake, cocoa butter• Netherland 0.44M Mt• USA 0.41M Mt• Cote d’Ivoire 0.28M MtAs chocolate1/3 made into cocoa liquor (cocoa mass)2/3 made into cocoa butter and cocoaAssume bean is 50% cocoa butter then 2/3 of production used to make

chocolate, 2.4M Mt60% of chocolate sold in Europe and US, 20% of world population

Cacao to ChocolateFlow Chart

Making ChocolateRoasting - 100 to 135C, until cracking sound stops, or strong

aroma of ‘brownies baking’ up to 60 min,Crushing and winnowing - produces “nibs” and shell (seed coat)Next if producing cocoa and cocoa butter then press nibs to

separateIf producing chocolateGrind nibs to produce cocoa liquor - this is the first stage of

sensory evaluationNext is conching mixing & refining- sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin

added while cocoa liquor is ground even finer. This processmay take several hours to days.

Next is tempering to increase meltingpoint and hardness.Last is pouring the chocolate into molds or simply onto a marble

slab or silicon pad.