Fruits of the cacao
In the wilds a cacao tree can reach up to 15 metres. But on the plantations they usually keep them down to about 6−9 metres. This both protects them against strong winds and makes harvesting considerably easier.
In the equatorial climate the cacao tree flowers all year round. The cacao flowers are of various shades from pink to red, and they grow not only on the branches, but right on the trunk.
On the plantations the cacao trees begin to bear fruit 3−5 years after planting. The fruit take 5−6 months to ripen. The mature cacao fruit is oval in shape and weighs 300−500 g, and its colour can vary from yellow to orange to red. No more than about 20−50 fruit can be harvested from one tree in the course of a year.
What’s inside?
The mature fruit is picked and cut in half. The peel of the fruit conceals a sweet pale-pink pulp, and within the pulp some 20−40 seeds that in shape resemble ordinary beans, which is in fact what they are—cocoa beans, the main ingredient for the production of natural chocolate. One cacao tree will produce about two kilogrammes of dry beans a year.
The beans themselves have a bitter, astringent taste due to the high concentration of tannic substances. In this state they are useless for the production of chocolate and thus have to undergo special processing.
Fermentation
The dry cocoa beans are poured into baskets, covered with banana leaves, and left for 5−6 days with occasional stirring. The heat generated in the basket causes the beans to ferment with the temperature rising to 50 °C and the chemical content of the beans undergoing complex changes. This is known as the fermentation process. As a result the beans lose up to 65% of their original weight and their moisture content drops to 6%. Their colour changes from violet to brown, they take on a soft, sweetish buttery taste and—most important—assume the characteristic aroma of chocolate.
Fermentation is the first—and very important—stage in the processing of cocoa beans. The degree to which the beans were correctly and evenly fermented will largely determine the smell, taste and quality of the future chocolate.
Off to the factory
The fermented cocoa beans are washed and dried in the sun or with the use of special equipment. Once dried, they are packed into sturdy sacks of some natural material, and loaded on boats that are specially designed to carry them. In this way the cocoa comes on to the world markets. Later the beans will end up in factories and, soon after, be turned into chocolate.
What’s the use of cocoa?
Cocoa beans have a complex chemical composition. They contain proteins, carbohydrates, organic acids as well as tannic, colouring, mineral and aromatic substances. These latter determine the specific chocolate aroma of cocoa and products made from it. Cocoa also contains the alkaloids theobromine and caffeine.
Caffeine has a stimulatory effect on the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Theobromine is used in the treatment of coronary heart disease and headaches, and it has also proved effective in the treatment of coughing particularly in the early stages.
Thus cocoa and chocolate, which is made from it, have not only an invigorating effect, but also medicinal uses. For this reason cocoa beans are a valuable commodity both for chocolate manufacturers and for the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and perfume industries. | 
