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→From Bean to Bar - or from the fruit to the chocolate
Behind his house Issouf has a small tree nursery, where he cherishes not only new cocoa trees but also fast-growing trees. Together with other villagers he plants the fast-growing trees on the mountain slopes to prevent future erosion which could destroy the plantations again. For Issouf, as many other self-sufficient farmers, cocoa is an important cash crop which is indispensable to improve their living conditions.
== From Bean to Bar - or from the fruit to the chocolate ==
Chocolaterie Robert purchases its organic and fine quality cocoa from the farms of about 120 peasant independent farmers in the Sambirano valley Valley in the north of Madagascar. The fertile north is the hottest and wettest region in of Madagascar. The near location to the equator (about 1,400km south), the regular rainfall especially in the months from December to March and the average temperature of 25C 25°C are the ideal conditions for growing cocoa. Most of the farmers are cocoa farmers in 2nd or 3rd generation. Cocoa farming is often a family business and depending on the size of the plantation, the entire family helps to harvest and process the cocoa.
In the Sambirano region all three types of cocoa grow: Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario. Criollo is a rare species, which only grows in rainy regions such as at the foot of the mountains in the Sambirano valley. Criollo is a very sensitive and not very fruitful species. Compared with the other cocoa species, the Criollo pods have a very an uneven surface. The beans have a tender (delicate) flavour which is especially suitable for chocolates with a high percentage of cocoa. A cut Criollo bean has a light (an almost white) colourinside.
Forastero is more resistant resilient than Criollo and therefore easier to farm. The Forastero species produces mor more cocoa than Criollo or Trinitario. The pods have a rounder form and a smooth surface. Unfortunately Forastero has a more bitter flavour and is therefore mainly used for milk chocolate or cocoa powder. A cut Forastero bean is violettviolette.
Trinitario is a relatively recent crossing between Criollo and Forastero and therefore combines the high quality of Criollo with the resistance of Forastero. Trinitario is the most common cocoa in Madagascar. A cut Trinitario bean is dark.
The soft, white fruit flesh pulp of a ripe cocoa pod is sugar sweet and full of rich in Vitamin C. Children, but also adults, like to chew on fresh pulps.
Cocoa trees grow best in the shade of other trees, such as fruit trees, acacia or wild ylang-ylang. Most of the cocoa fruits grow on the tree stem, others on branches. The quality of cocoa does not depend on the colour of the pods. Ripe cocoa fruits can be harvested throughout the entire year. Harvesting usually takes place in the morninghours, whereby the farmer carefully chops the fruit of their stems with a special harvesting knife (a type of machete with a round peak, similar to a hook). The farmer needs to be very careful not to not harm the Samenkissenfloral button, from where a new flower will grow. Thereafter the farmer opens the pod and separates the beans from the fruit flesh pulp by hand. Each fruit has contains about 50 seats insideseeds.
The fresh cocoa beans are brought to a fermentation station, which is usually a 3-level wooden fermentation devisedevice. The beans are thrown into the upper wooden box and every second day they are shuffled by hand from the higher box into the lower box. The fermentation is one of the most important steps in the production procedure of quality cocoa. Due to the high sugar amount contents of the fruit flesh pulp the fermentation can begins immediately begin. During the 6 to 7 days of fermentation a temperature of up to 50C 50°C develops and the fruit flesh pulp evaporates. The shifting of the beans is very important in order to add necessary oxygen for the right chemical processto occur. Beans of the same size ensure an evenly even fermentation.
After the fermentation the beans are tried dried for 1 to 2 weeks in the straight direct sun (5 days in the dry season and 10 days in the rainy season). The sun affects the flavour of the beans. The beans have to must dry equally/steady and steadily and are therefore turned upside down several times a day. The drying makes the beans durable and storable. Insufficient Insufficiently dried beans are just dry outside and still moist inside and can will easily moulder. Too fast drying creates unwanted flavours. Throughout the drying process the weight of the beans reduces to about half or even less and the moisture content is reduced down to 7%.
After the drying , the beans are selected by hand to sort out rotten or damaged beans. Thereafter the dry beans are packed into sacks and transported to the factory. For an ideal transport and storing the beans should have a water moisture of 6-8% and the humidity of the storage should not exceed 75%.
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