Cocoa beans in a cacao pod
Cocoa beans before roasting
Cocoa is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed
of the
cacao tree, from which
chocolate is made. (The word "cocoa" is derivative
of "cacao".) "Cocoa" can often also refer to the drink commonly
known as
hot chocolate; to
cocoa powder, the dry powder made by grinding
cocoa seeds and removing the
cocoa
butter from the dark, bitter cocoa solids; or to a mixture of
cocoa powder and cocoa butter.
A cocoa pod has a rough leathery rind about 3 cm thick (this
varies with the origin and variety of pod). It is filled with
sweet,
mucilaginous pulp (called 'baba de
cacao' in South America) enclosing 30 to 50 large
almond-like
seeds (beans) that
are fairly soft and pinkish or purplish in color.
History
The cacao tree is native to the Americas. It may have originated in
the foothills of the
Andes in the
Amazon and
Orinoco
basins of
South America where today,
examples of wild cacao still can be found. However, it may have had
a larger range in the past, evidence for which may be obscured
because of its cultivation in these areas long before, as well as
after, the Spanish arrived.
It may have been introduced into Central
America by the ancient Maya, and
cultivated in Mexico
by the
Olmecs, then by the Toltecs and later by the Aztecs. It was a common currency throughout
Mesoamerica and the Caribbean before the Spanish conquest.
Cacao trees will grow in a limited geographical zone, of
approximately 20 degrees to the north and south of the Equator.
Nearly 70% of the world crop is grown in West Africa.
Cocoa was an important commodity in
Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.
Spanish
chroniclers
of the conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés relate that when
Moctezuma II, emperor of the Aztecs, dined he took no other beverage than chocolate, served in a golden
goblet and eaten with a golden spoon. Flavored with
vanilla and
spices, his
chocolate was whipped into a froth that dissolved in the mouth. It
is reported that Montezuma II may have consumed no fewer than 50
portions each day, and 200 more by the
noble of his court.
Chocolate was introduced to
Europe by the
Spaniards and became a popular beverage by
the mid 1600s.
They also introduced the cacao tree into the
West
Indies
and the Philippines
.
The cacao plant was first given its botanical name by Swedish
natural scientist
Carl Linnaeus in his
original classification of the plant kingdom, who called it
Theobroma ("food of the gods")
cacao.
Production
World production
Cocoa bean output in 2005
About of cocoa is produced each year. The global production was
- : in 1974,
- : in 1984,
- : in 1994,
- : in 2004 (record).
The production increased by 131.7% in 30 years, representing a
cumulative average growth rate of 2.8%.
There are three main varieties of cacao: Forastero, Criollo, and
Trinitario. The first comprises 95% of the world production of
cocoa, and is the most widely used. Overall, the highest quality
cocoa beans come from the Criollo variety, which is considered a
delicacy
[8692]. Criollo plantations have lower yields
than those of Forastero, and also tend to be less resistant to
several diseases that attack the cocoa plant, hence very few
countries still produce it. One of the largest producers of Criollo
beans is Venezuela (Chuao and Porcelana). Hacienda San José,
located in Paria/Venezuela, cultivates Criollo beans. The total
area of this hacienda is 320 hectares, of which 185 hectares are
devoted to cacao with a density of 1.000 plants per hectare.
Trinitario is a hybrid between Criollo and Forastero varieties. It
is considered to be of much higher quality than the latter is, but
has higher yields and is more resistant to disease than the former
[8693].
The
Netherlands
is the leading cocoa processing country, followed
by the U.S.
.
Cocoa and its products (including chocolate) are used worldwide.
Per Capita
consumption is poorly understood with numerous countries claiming
the highest: various reports state that Switzerland
, Belgium
, and the
UK
have the highest consumption, but because there is
no clear mechanism to determine how much of a country's production
is consumed by residents and how much by visitors, this is all
speculative.
The largest cocoa bean producing countries in the world are as
follows. The figure gives the production estimates for the
2006–2007 season from the International Cocoa Organization. The
percentage is the proportion of the world's total of
3.5 million
tonnes for the relevant
period.
Harvesting
Cocoa pods in various stages of
ripening
When the pods ripen, they are harvested from the trunks and
branches of the Cocoa tree with a curved
knife
on a long
pole. The pod itself is green
when ready to harvest, rather than red or orange. Normally, red or
orange pods are considered of a lesser quality because their
flavors and aromas are poorer; these are used for industrial
chocolate. The pods are either opened on the field and the seeds
extracted and carried to the
fermentation area on the plantation, or
the whole pods are taken to the fermentation area.
Processing
The harvested pods are opened—typically with a
machete—the pulp and cocoa seeds are removed and the
rind is discarded. The pulp and seeds are then
piled in heaps, placed in bins, or laid out on grates for several
days. During this time, the seeds and pulp undergo "sweating",
where the thick pulp liquefies as it ferments. The fermented pulp
trickles away, leaving cocoa seeds behind to be collected. Sweating
is important for the quality of the beans, which originally have a
strong bitter taste. If sweating is interrupted, the resulting
cocoa may be ruined; if underdone the cocoa seed maintains a flavor
similar to raw
potatoes and becomes
susceptible to
mildew.
Some cocoa producing countries distill
alcoholic spirits using the liquefied pulp.
The fermented beans are dried by spreading them out over a large
surface and constantly raking them. In large
plantations, this is done on huge trays under the
sun or by using artificial heat. Small plantations may dry their
harvest on little trays or on
cowhides.
Finally,
the beans are trodden and shuffled about (often using bare human
feet) and sometimes, during this process, red clay mixed with water is sprinkled
over the beans to obtain a finer color, polish, and protection
against molds during shipment to factories in the United States
, the Netherlands, United
Kingdom
, and other countries. Drying in the sun is
preferable to drying by artificial means, as no extraneous flavors
such as smoke or oil are introduced which might otherwise taint the
flavor.
The beans should be dry for shipment (usually by sea) to the United
States and Europe. Traditionally exported in jute bags, over the
last decade the beans are increasingly shipped in 'Mega-Bulk' bulk
parcels of several thousand tonnes at a time on ships, or in
smaller lots of around 25 tonnes in 20' containers. Shipping in
bulk significantly reduces handling costs, however shipment in
bags, either in a ship's hold or in containers, is still commonly
found.Image:Chuao 003.JPG|Boy collecting cocoa
Image:Chuao_002.JPG|Cacao drying square in
front of church, Chuao
,
Venezuela.Image:Chuao 004.JPG|Woman drying cocoa
Chocolate production
Chocolate
To make 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of
chocolate, about 300 to 600 beans are processed,
depending on the desired cocoa content. In a factory, the beans are
roasted. Next they are cracked and then de-shelled by a "winnower".
The resulting pieces of beans are called nibs, and are ground,
using various methods, into a thick creamy paste, known as
chocolate liquor or cocoa paste. This
"liquor" is then further processed into chocolate by mixing in
(more) cocoa butter and sugar (and sometimes vanilla and
lecithin as an emulsifier), and then refined,
conched and tempered. Alternatively, it can
be separated into
cocoa powder and
cocoa butter using a
hydraulic press or
the
Broma process. This process
produces around 50%
cocoa butter and
50%
cocoa powder. Standard cocoa powder
has a fat content of approximately 10–12 percent.
Cocoa butter is used in
chocolate bar manufacture, other
confectionery,
soaps, and
cosmetics.
Adding an
alkali produces
Dutch process cocoa powder, which is
less acidic, darker and more mellow in flavor than what is
generally available in most of the world. Regular (non-alkalized)
cocoa is acidic, so when cocoa is treated with an alkaline
ingredient, generally potassium carbonate, the pH increases. This
process can be done at various stages during manufacturing,
including during nib treatment, liquor treatment or press cake
treatment.
Another process that helps develop the flavor is roasting. Roasting
can be done on the whole bean before shelling or on the nib after
shelling. The time and temperature of the roast affect the result:
A "low roast" produces a more acid, aromatic flavor, while a high
roast gives a more intense, bitter flavor lacking complex flavor
notes.
Health benefits of cocoa consumption
Chocolate and cocoa contain a high level of
flavonoids, specifically
epicatechin, which may have beneficial
cardiovascular effects on health.The
ingestion of flavonol-rich cocoa is associated with acute elevation
of circulating
nitric oxide, enhanced
flow-mediated
vasodilation, and
augmented
microcirculation.
Prolonged intake of flavonol-rich cocoa has been linked to
cardiovascular health benefits, though it should be noted that this
refers to raw cocoa and to a lesser extent, dark chocolate, since
flavonoids degrade during cooking and alkalizing processes. Milk
chocolate's addition of whole milk reduces the overall cocoa
content per ounce while increasing saturated fat levels, possibly
negating some of cocoa's heart-healthy potential benefits.
Nevertheless, studies have still found short term benefits in
LDL cholesterol levels from
dark chocolate consumption.
Hollenberg and colleagues of Harvard Medical School studied the
effects of cocoa and flavanols on Panama's Kuna Indian population,
who are heavy consumers of cocoa. The researchers found that the
Kuna Indians living on the islands had significantly lower rates of
heart disease and cancer compared to those on the mainland who do
not drink cocoa as on the islands. It is believed that the improved
blood flow after consumption of flavonol-rich cocoa may help to
achieve health benefits in hearts and other organs. In particular,
the benefits may extend to the brain and have important
implications for learning and memory.
Foods rich in cocoa appear to reduce blood pressure but drinking
green and black tea may not, according to an analysis of previously
published research in the April 9, 2007 issue of Archives of
Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
A 15-year study of elderly men published in the
Archives of Internal
Medicine in 2006 found a 50 percent reduction in
cardiovascular mortality and a 47 percent reduction in
all-cause mortality for the men regularly consuming the
most cocoa, compared to those consuming the least cocoa from all
sources.
Non-human animal consumption
Chocolate is a food product with appeal not only to the human
population, but to many different animals as well. However,
chocolate and cocoa contain a high level of
xanthines, specifically
theobromine and to a much lesser extent
caffeine, that are detrimental to the health of
many animals, including
dogs and
cats. While these compounds have desirable effects in
humans, they cannot be efficiently metabolized in many animals and
can lead to cardiac and nervous system problems, and if consumed in
high quantities, even lead to death. However, since the beginning
of the 21st century, some cocoa derivatives with a low
concentration of xanthines have been designed by specialized
industry to be suitable for pet consumption, enabling the pet food
industry to offer animal-safe chocolate and cocoa flavored
products. It results in products with a high concentration of
fiber and
proteins,
while maintaining low concentrations of
sugar
and other
carbohydrates, thus enabling
it to be used to create healthy
functional cocoa pet products.
Sustainable cocoa
In the industrialized world, changing attitudes to cocoa products
may cause a reduced demand for them in the future. Obesity,
particularly among children, has become a major health problem and
chocolate—a food product with a high calorie content—is considered
to be part of the problem. Additionally, consumers are becoming
increasingly interested in the environmental impact of the
production of cocoa, as well as what they perceive as the negative
social impact of its production.
Price instability makes it difficult for small-scale farmers to
predict income levels from year to year. Efforts to diversify
cropping patterns and improve production and marketing efficiencies
can help to address this.
Roundtable for a Sustainable Cocoa Economy (RSCE)
The initiative, called the
Roundtable for a Sustainable Cocoa Economy
(RSCE), has developed from the growing requirement to face the
challenges posed by sustainability. It was launched in 2007 by the
International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) and is steered by an
independent working group with representation of major
stakeholders. The mission of the Roundtable is to establish a
participatory and transparent process towards economic,
environmental and social sustainability in the global cocoa
economy. The 1st Roundtable in 2007 brought together more than 200
stakeholders representing 25 countries, including cocoa farmers,
government officials from cocoa producing and consuming countries,
traders, chocolate manufacturers, donor organizations and national
and international NGOs.
Child labor
- According to an International Labour
Organization report, in 2002, more than 109,000 children were
working on cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire
(Ivory Coast), some of them in 'the worst forms of
child labour'. The International
Labour Organization later reported that 200,000 children were
working in the cocoa industry in Ivory Coast in 2005.[8694]
- The first allegations that child
slavery is used in cocoa production appeared in 1998. The
International Labour Organization report in 2005 failed to fully
characterize this problem, but estimated that up to 6% of the
200,000 children involved in cocoa production could be victims of
human trafficking or
slavery[8695]. (See Children in cocoa
production).
The
Cocoa Protocol is an effort to
end these practices. It has, however, been criticized by some
groups including the
International Labor Rights
Forum as an industry initiative which falls short.
Organizations which directly support sustainable cocoa
- Cocoa farmers in many countries lack information on production
and marketing practices to help them improve their livelihoods.
Organizations such as the World Cocoa
Foundation help support sustainable cocoa efforts through
public-private partnerships such as IITA's
sustainable tree crops program (STCP) in cocoa growing regions. The
World Cocoa Foundation's regional programs in West Africa, Latin
America and Southeast Asia have reached over 300,000 small scale
cocoa farmers and their families. Graduates of WCF-supported farmer
field schools report income improvements of 22–55 percent or more,
through improved cultivation and marketing practices.
Fairtrade
1. The FAIRTRADE Mark is a certification mark and a registered
trademark of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO)
of which the Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member. The Fairtrade
Foundation is an independent certification body which licenses the
use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on products which meet international
Fairtrade standards. This independent consumer label appears on
products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a
better deal. Today, more than 7.5 million people - farmers, workers
and their families - across 59 developing countries benefit from
the international Fairtrade system.
2. Overall sales of Fairtrade products for the quarter April to
June 2008 grew by 55% from an estimated retail value of £113m to
£176m in the same period last year.
3. There are Fairtrade cocoa producer groups in Belize, Bolivia,
Cameroon, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, Haiti,
India, Ivory Coast, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Sierra Leone
Environmental impact
The poverty of many cocoa farmers means that they can't afford to
take the best care of the environment in their activities.
For decades, these farmers have encroached on forest, most of the
time after the best trees had been cut down by logging companies.
This has happened less in recent times, as there is less forest
left and because many governments and communities take better care
of the remaining forests.
Usually, use of current inputs, such as chemical fertilizers and
pesticides, by cocoa farmers is limited. For this reason most have
only limited knowledge of the most appropriate ways of using such
inputs.
Cocoa trading
Cocoa beans, Cocoa butter and cocoa powder are traded on two world
exchanges:
NYSE Euronext and
IntercontinentalExchange(ICE). The
London market is based on West African cocoa and New York on cocoa
predominantly from South East Asia. Cocoa is the world's smallest
soft commodity market.The future
price of cocoa butter and cocoa powder is determined by multiplying
the bean price by a ratio. The combined butter and powder ratio has
tended to be around 3.5. If the combined ratio falls below 3.2 or
so, production ceases to be economically viable and some factories
cease extraction of butter and powder and trade exclusively in
cocoa liquor.Cocoa Beans can be held in store for several years in
bags or in bulk, during which the ownership can change several
times as the cocoa is traded much the same as metal or other
commodities, in order to gain profit for the owner.
See also
References
- Sorting Out Chocolate - Fine Cooking
Article
- “Cocoa: From Bean to Bar,” Urbanski, John, Food
Product Design, May 2008
- 1743-7075-3-2.fm
- Cocoa: The Next Health Drink?
- BBC NEWS | Health | Cocoa nutrient for 'lethal
ills'
- Flavanols in cocoa may offer benefits to the
brain
- Cocoa, But Not Tea, May Lower Blood
Pressure
- U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices, 2005 Human Rights Report on Côte
d'Ivoire
-
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/press_office/press_releases_and_statements/october_2008/300th_fairtrade_chocolate_product_is_certified_for_chocolate_week_as_sales_of_fairtrade_cocoa_products_grow_by_24_2.aspx
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