Everything about Cocoa totally explained
Cocoa is the dried and partially fermented fatty seed of the
cacao tree from which
chocolate is made. "Cocoa" can often also refer to the drink commonly known as
hot chocolate;
cocoa powder, the dry powder made by grinding cocoa seeds and removing the
cocoa butter from the dark, bitter cocoa solids; or it may refer to the combination of both cocoa powder and cocoa butter together.
A cacao 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.
Cocoa shouldn't be confused with the
coca plant which can be used to create
cocaine.
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
Mayas, 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
Montezuma 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
nobles 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
Carolus Linnaeus in his original classification of the plant kingdom, who called it
Theobroma ("food of the gods")
cacao.
Production
World production
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About of cocoa is produced each year. The global production was
» : in 1974,
: in 1984,
» : in 1994,
: in 2004 (record).
This is an increase of 131.7% in 30 years, representing a cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) of 2.8%.
There are three main varieties of cacao: Forastero, Criollo, and Trinitario. The first comprises 95% of the world production of cacao, and is the most widely used. Overall, the highest quality cocoa beans come from the Criollo variety, which is considered a delicacy
(External Link
). 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 producer of Criollo beans is Venezuela (Chuao and Porcelana). Trinitario is a hybrid between Criollo and Forastero varieties. It is considered of much higher quality than the latter, but has higher yields and is more resistant to disease than the former
(External Link).
The
Netherlands is the leading cocoa processing country, followed by the
U.S..
Cocoa and its products (including chocolate) are used world-wide. 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's 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 world's largest cocoa bean producing countries are as follows. The figure gives the production estimates for the 2006/7 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
When the pods ripen, they're 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 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.
Image:Chuao 003.JPG|Boy collecting cacao
Image:Chuao_002.JPG|Cacao drying square in front of church, Chuao, Venezuela.
Image:Chuao 004.JPG|Woman drying cacao
Chocolate production
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 washed and roasted. Next they're cracked and then de-hulled 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 lecithin as an emulsifier and vanilla), and then refining,
conching and tempering. Or 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 (nonalkalized) cocoa is acidic, so when added to an alkaline ingredient like baking soda, the two react and leave a byproduct.
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 plain cocoa and dark chocolate. 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 don't drink cocoa as on the islands. It is believed that the improved blood flow after consumption of flavanol-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.
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 can't 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 mid-2000s, 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.
Problems in the use of cocoa as a commodity
- Cocoa farmers in many countries lack information on production and marketing practices to help them improve their livelihoods. Charities such as the World Cocoa Foundation helps to support sustainable cocoa efforts through public-private partnerships such as IITA's sustainable tree crops program (STCP) in cocoa growing regions.
- Natural pollination is exclusively by midges, which may be affected by pesticides. Pollination is also carried out manually.
- Many cocoa farmers receive a low price for their production. This has led to cocoa and chocolate being available as fairtrade items in some countries. However, this fair trade remains as a tiny percentage of the total trade.
Child labor
Children work in the cocoa production industry. According to an International Labor 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 labor'. The International Labor Organization later reported that 200,000 children were working in the cocoa industry in Ivory Coast in 2005.(External Link)
The first allegations that child slavery is used in cocoa production appeared in 1998. The 2005 International Labor Organization report failed to fully characterize this problem, but estimated that up to 6% of the 200,000 children involved in cocoa production could be the victims of human trafficking or slavery(External Link). (See Economics of cocoa).
See Cocoa Protocol for efforts to end these practices. The Cocoa Protocol has been criticized by some groups including the International Labor Rights Fund as an industry initiative which falls short.
Cocoa trading
Cocoa beans, Cocoa butter and cocoa powder are traded on two world exchanges: London and New York. 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 futures 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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cocoa'.
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