Table of Contents
What are the three types of cocoa beans?
THE DIFFERENT CACAO VARIETIES. There are three varieties of Theobroma cacao, as it was officially named in 1753 by the Swedish scientist Carl von Linné. They are Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario, and multiple hybrids exist of each strain.
What are Trinitario cacao beans?
The Trinitario cocoa bean is hybrid of the Criollo and Forastero varieties. Trinitario was created in Trinidad after the Forastero variety was introduced and crossed with the local Criollo variety in the eighteenth century as a consequence of the Criollo variety almost being wiped out on the island.
How do you peel cacao beans easily?
How to Peel Cacao Beans
- Place the cacoa beans in a large bowl and fill with water until all the beans are fully submerged. Video of the Day.
- Leave the beans to soak in the water for half an hour to allow the outer shells to soften.
- Peel the cacoa nuts using the tips of your fingers to tear away the outer shell.
Where do the best cacao beans come from?
The Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana are the top producers of cacao- 70% of the world’s cocoa beans come from these West African countries. However, countries such as Indonesia, Peru, Venezuela and many countries in Central America and the Carribean also grow the bean.
What is the rarest cocoa in the world?
Nacional Cocoa
Nacional Cocoa The least known cacao, and fourth variety is nacional. This bean variety was only recently rediscovered in Peru in 2011. In its purest form, it is regarded as the world’s rarest cacao.
What is the best cacao variety in the Philippines?
The Criollo is considered as the most prized, rare and expensive variety. It is native to Central and South America. It is believed that the 1st cacao seed planted in the Philippines was the Criollo variety brought via the Acapulco-Manila Galleon Trade in 1670. Only 5% of the world‟s cacao production is Criollo.
Where does Trinitario cocoa come from?
Trinitario World Production This group of cocoa trees is mainly found in Brazil, Mexico, Cameroon, Venezuela, the West Indies and Madagascar. 150 pods per Trinitario plant are harvested in one year of production, equivalent to an average of 6 kg of cocoa.
Can you eat raw cacao beans?
Raw cacao is the purest form of chocolate one can consume. Whether consumed in powder form, as cacao nibs or cacao beans, it is far less processed than its heated and treated cocoa counterpart.
Do you need to peel cacao beans?
After the roasting process is complete, let the beans rest and cool for a while. When the beans cooled down, you can start peeling off the outer shell/skin and place them in a clean bowl. After peeling all the beans, once at room temperature eat the cacao – they will be crunchy.
What the most expensive cocoa bean?
Of all the cocoa varieties, criollo is the most expensive due to several factors: It has a distinct reddish color and complex flavor profile that includes nutty, caramel, vanilla and tobacco notes, and its scarcity due to its lack of resistance to disease has made this a rare and highly coveted cacao variety.
What makes Philippine cacao special?
The fruitiness of some Philippine cacao is influenced by the presence of fruit trees such as calamansi, durian, and guava. Beans from cacao farms intercropped with fruits and vegetables such as pomelo, bananas, tomatoes, lettuce, and green beans can contribute to an earthy, tropical flavor.
Where is Trinitario found?
Does roasting cacao destroy nutrients?
Although some nutrients may be lost with the heating process, most of the antioxidant content of cacao is retained in the heated cocoa powder, especially if a darker chocolate cocoa powder is purchased (also less likelihood of milk powders and other ingredients).
What are cacao beans?
Cacao beans – oval dark brownish seeds, in other words, chocolate nuts that grow on a chocolate tree. These beans are rather bitter in taste though they are widely eaten raw. Nevertheless, this product is mostly known as being grounded for chocolate. Even though we do hear a lot about cacao, hardly anyone can single out the utmost pros of the item.
What do you do with cacao pods after harvest?
What to Do with Cacao Pods Once the pods have been harvested, they are split open. The beans inside are then scooped from the pod and left to ferment with the pulp for about a week. The resulting fermentation will keep the beans from germinating later and it builds a more robust flavor.
How are cocoa beans turned into chocolate?
The color of the pods depends on the variety of cacao tree, but regardless of the color, inside each pod reside 20 to 40 cocoa beans covered in a sweet white pulp. Once the beans have been harvested, the real work of turning them into chocolate begins. Once the pods have been harvested, they are split open.
How many cacao pods come out of a cocoa plant?
The pods grow straight out from the trunk of the tree and can yield 20 to 30 pods per year. The color of the pods depends on the variety of cacao tree, but regardless of the color, inside each pod reside 20 to 40 cocoa beans covered in a sweet white pulp.