Cocoa cultivation

To start with, the farmers are given information on how to maintain their plantations, and others, with a little help switch over to organic cultivation.

The seeds from the fruit of the cocoa tree are known as cocoa beans. The fruits are harvested when they are ripe. The farmer cuts open the fruit and removes the seeds. At this stage the beans are tough, purple in colour and have an unpleasant bitter taste. Cocoa beans are the raw material to make chocolate.

At this stage, there is still pulp around the beans, and the pulp starts to ferment when it is covered up. Not only does this change the colour of the bean, but it also makes the flavour a lot more pleasant to taste. After fermentation, the beans are laid out to dry, and the beans are turned over regularly to ensure they dry thoroughly.