Theobroma cacao L. is the scientific name for the cocoa tree. Theobroma comes from Latin and means “food of the gods“. This evergreen plant, a member of the Malvaceae family, is grown in shrubs of two to three metres in height. It needs to be in the shade, so it is usually found under large trees such as cedar, coral, mango or banana trees.
Its flowers and fruits are produced on the stem and branches, making it a cauliferous tree. It has a dense crown and the adult leaves are completely green and its flowers are white or pinkish in colour.
On average, the cocoa tree produces 10 to 15 fruits, although it can produce up to 20. These are drupes, or simple fruits with a fibrous mesocarp, known as cocoa pods or maracas. Oval in shape, the seeds are covered with a sweet-tasting, gelatinous substance.
This plant grows wild in the Amazon basin. It was allegedly transported to Mesoamerica by humans in pre-Columbian times. The first evidence of the use and domestication of the cocoa tree was found some 3,500 years ago in Puerto Escondido, in present-day Honduras.
Since ancient times, cocoa has been present in the Americas, being its sweet legacy to the world. This fruit is an important part of the life and history of Venezuela. Called “the money that grows on trees” by the indigenous population, it became part of their culture and identity, determining their economic development.
The origin of its scientific name comes from it being referred to as a food of the gods. Cocoa was the real treasure that the conquistadors obtained in their search for the legend of El Dorado, as it became an important source of wealth for the Spanish crown.
Thanks to the importance gained from its cultivation and commercialisation, the new landowners were called “Grandes Cacaos“. They brought in slaves to grow it and turned savannahs and valleys into lush forests and rainforests in order to protect this valuable fruit. The Spanish crown made more money from cocoa than from the pearls of Cubagua and Margarita.
The wealth generated was so significant that, through the Guipuzcoana Company, the Crown imposed regulations, controls and taxes. The unrest that this monopoly created among the Creoles and the defence of the cocoa trade gave impetus to what years later would initiate the declaration of war against Spain, and the struggle for independence.
The Criollo cocoa is also known as fine cocoa because its characteristics enable it to produce high-quality beans.Venezuela is one of the countries with the largest variety of this species in the world, as well as being the country to which its first appearance is attributed, specifically in the southern basin of Lake Maracaibo, specifically in the state of Zulia.
The colour of its kernel has slightly violet or white shades. The pod is wide at the base, the inner bean is thick and round, and its cotyledons are white. The trees usually grow low with thin, short branches, and its flowers are small and pink. It is a cocoa with fruity aromas as well as hints of dried fruit. It is slightly bitter, yet refined. It is highly regarded and used to make chocolate of the highest quality. This variety is used to make some of the best chocolates and many types of gourmet food preparations.
This is part of the large percentage of mainstream cocoa grown in West Africa, Malaysia and Indonesia, accounting for almost 80% of the world’s cocoa. Despite its name, this cocoa is highly resistant to diseases and viruses and is therefore highly sought after in order to genetically improve other types of cocoa.
It has a strong, bitter, slightly acidic taste and accounts for 70% of the world’s cocoa consumption. It is the most robust cocoa (growers say they rely on its resistance to disease) and it produces the most fruit, but its downsides are its unsophisticated aroma and its lack of a fruity flavour.
A hybrid between Criollo and Forastero, with characteristics from both, this cross has given rise to a cocoa of the highest quality which, when turned into chocolate, has a unique aroma and flavour. Its aromatic qualities are much more pronounced than those of the Forastero.
The colour of its kernels varies between the white of the Criollo cocoa and the dark of the Forastero cocoa. It contains a wide range of flavours and aromas that linger on the palate. It contains hints of hay, oak, honey, apple, and melon. It is grown in Trinidad, Java, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, and Venezuela under the name of Carenero Superior. It currently accounts for approximately 5% of the world’s production.
This is a study carried out to obtain data from a batch of beans, evaluate the health of the cocoa bean, the level of fermentation as well as detect any potential issues such as infestation or defects caused by the presence of pests in the bean. It is important to clarify that the cutting test is not used to determine which family the cocoa tree belongs to, but can reveal if a tree contains natural crosses, such as a Trinitario cocoa, in which some white or violet kernels can be detected, resulting in the presence of a criollo gene in the tree.
Assessing the level of fermentation in a bean enables us to determine the uniformity in a batch, which will ensure whether the flavours we are looking for in the beans will be optimal in the final result (chocolate production).
Venezuela has been a pioneer in the export of cocoa beans to Europe since the 17th century, but the cocoa tradition and culture in Venezuela was lost for almost two centuries, resulting in a decrease in production of some of the beans in greatest demand, such as the Criollo cocoa and its different types.
Today, the cocoa culture is expected to recover, resuming planting and good cocoa harvesting practices. Although the production of certain species has diminished, it is estimated that in a few years the Venezuelan bean will once again be positioned as one of the best in the world.
The production of each of these varies, resulting in higher levels of production of the Superior Carenero type, followed by the Rio caribe, and being very scarce in the case of the Sur del Lago such as the Chuao, which makes them difficult to obtain, resulting in their grains being more sought-after and expensive.
This is the industrial process in which the bean is transformed to obtain its by-products, which are cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa powder.
(a) Selection of grain by size: Having your cocoa beans selected is important, because it is necessary to have beans of the same size and weight in order to ensure the success of the next stages such as roasting and shelling. During the roasting process, having selected the beans ensures an even roasting process and ensures there are no burnt beans or unroasted beans.
(b) Roasting: It is the essential operation where the natural moisture content, combined with heating, generates a set of chemical reactions involving the precursor compounds formed during fermentation and drying, which then give rise to the initial flavour and aroma of the chocolate.
(c) Shelling: This is the process in which the shell, which is the outer layer of the cocoa bean, is removed. Regardless of the different purposes for which cocoa beans are used in the industry, all cocoa beans must initially undergo a shelling process before they are made into a cocoa paste or liquor. This step can be carried out at low temperatures. Alternatively, the grains can be dried with infra-red radiation.
(d) Grinding: The roasted and cleaned cocoa is ground using rollers. In the past, rollers were made of granite, but nowadays steel rollers are used more frequently. Cocoa beans are ground to produce cocoa liquor.
(e) Refining and Conching: In this process, the particles of the liquor mass are refined to between 20-25 μ. Finally, the conching process takes place to remove any undesirable acetic acids from the refined pulp using a built-in surface scraping mixer and agitator.
(f) Pressing: The extraction process consists of applying high pressure to the cocoa paste to separate the butter from the solid part known as cocoa cake.
(g) Pulverising: The process used to grind and pulverise the cocoa cake after the butter has been extracted.
It is a product obtained by grinding cocoa beans previously shelled and roasted, without the addition of additives. The paste obtained can be used for the production of cocoa butter and cocoa powder, or for making chocolates.
It is a product obtained by pressing the cocoa liquor in order to separate the fat from the solid part (cocoa cake). Cocoa butter is a fundamental ingredient in the manufacture of chocolate, as it is responsible for its texture, palatability and shine, as well as the characteristic crunch that is produced when a bar is broken. The amount of cocoa butter also affects how chocolate reacts during storage. In the manufacturing products for industrial use, cocoa butter is often replaced by other vegetable fats to reduce costs.
It is the product resulting from pulverising the remaining solid part of the industrial process of cocoa pressing, which is known as cocoa cake. During this process, a formula can be used to obtain an alkaline or natural powder as the case may be. It is common to use alkaline cocoa powder for the production of sweets and pastries, due to its leavening capacity.
