On Fermenting and Drying Cacao For Taza Chocolate

After growing and harvesting the cacao, the beans must be fermented and dried before they can be shipped to Taza. Unfermented cacao is bitter, astringent, and usually of poor quality. Large industrial manufacturers of chocolate often used unfermented cacao in candy bars, ice cream, and other confections. Large amounts of sugar and intense processing mask the unpleasant flavors of this kind of chocolate.

Pack mules are the only way to transport freshly harvested cacao from the jungle to the fermentery.

In the case of Taza, a thorough, careful fermentation helps develop the complex flavors our chocolate. The fermentation and drying steps are almost always done on the farm or nearby at a cooperative fermentery. The fermentation process is crucial to flavor development; and it has a significant effect on the end quality of the chocolate being produced. Here’s how it works:

Tiered fermentation compartments make it easy to move the beans from one stage to the next.

Once the cacao has been transported out of the forest, it is brought to a fermentery. Frequently, the fermentery consists of a series of wooden boxes or barrels arranged simply in a row. An improvement to this setup is the cascade fermentery. In this arrangement, the wooden fermentation boxes are arranged in three levels. The beans begin fermenting on the top level. Then, a hatch is opened which feeds the beans by means of gravity into the compartment on the middle level. The process is repeated, and the beans are transferred into a ground level compartment to finish fermenting.

The beans are moved to the next tier and agitated to achieve a full, even fermentation.

Cacao fermentation is much like that of other fermented foods, like beer, wine, and bread. Naturally occurring airborne yeast consume the sugars present in the pulp of the cacao fruit, producing acid that ferments or “cures” the cacao beans. Cacao fermentation is done in three stages over six to seven days. It begins when the harvested beans and pulp are loaded into a wooden box lined with banana leaves.

Cacao beans fermenting under cover of banana leaves.

Ambient yeasts begin their work immediately, breaking down the cacao sugars into acids and alcohol. This is an exothermic reaction, producing temperatures that may reach 120˚F or more. After two days, the contents of the box are agitated and transferred to a second box to continue fermenting. After another few days, the beans are transferred into a third and final compartment to finish the process. When the acidity and residual sugars have reached appropriate levels, and the fermentery foreman is satisfied, the process is complete.

Left: Beans drying on wood in a drying tent. Right: A card for tracing bean origin.

The entire fermentation process takes between five and seven days depending on factors like climate, season, and bean varietal. After fermentation has completed, the entire box is emptied onto large, wooden drying decks. There, the beans will be slowly dried in the sun for seven to ten days. During the drying stage, excess acetic acid and moisture seep out of the beans and evaporate. Slow, even drying on wood is key. Concrete, plastic, or asphalt surfaces can get outgas or get too hot, negatively affecting bean quality.

Left: Testing the moisture level of drying beans. Right: Alex verifying the results.

At the end of drying, the moisture level of the beans is reduced to approximately 6.5%. The cacao beans are now ready to be graded, bagged, and packed for shipment to Taza. We supply our producers with heavy-duty plastic bags that line the gunnysacks. These are hermetically sealed at the farm to protect the integrity of the beans during shipment.

Click here to continue to the next step: Roasting and Winnowing Cacao.