Cocoa beans are extracted by first harvesting the cocoa pods from the trees using machetes, then opening the pods to remove the beans and pulp.
Here’s a breakdown of the cocoa bean extraction process:
1. Harvesting the Pods:
- Cocoa farmers use a machete (a long, knife-like tool) to carefully cut the ripe cocoa pods from the cacao trees. Care is taken to avoid damaging the tree itself, as this can impact future yields.
- The pods grow directly from the trunk and branches of the tree, and are ready for harvesting when they change color (typically from green to yellow or orange/red).
2. Opening the Pods:
- Once harvested, the pods are gathered and then split open, usually with a machete or by striking them against a hard surface.
- The pods contain 20 to 50 cocoa beans, surrounded by a sweet, white, mucilaginous pulp.
3. Removing the Beans:
- The beans and pulp are scooped out of the pods by hand.
- This mixture is then typically placed in heaps or boxes to begin the fermentation process.
The fermentation and drying processes, which follow extraction, are crucial for developing the characteristic chocolate flavor of the cocoa beans. These steps, while essential to the overall process of making chocolate, are not part of the extraction process itself.
