THE STORY OF COCOA

WHERE IS COCOA GROWN?

Nearly all cacao grows within 20 degrees of the Equator, with 75 percent hailing from within 8 degrees of either side.

Cacao trees grow in three main regions:

>West Africa
>South and Central Americas
>Southeast Asia and Oceania

HOW IS COCOA GROWN?

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• There are three broad types of cocoa FORASTERO and CRILLO plus TRINITARIO which is a hybrid of Forastero and Crillo.
• Cocoa trees resemble English apple trees, seldom reaching more than 7.5 metres (25 feet) high and they are carefully pruned so that pods can be more easily harvested.

Cocoa trees begin to bear fruit when they are 3-4 years old. The pink and white flowers, then the pods grow

straight out of the trunk and main branches which is most unusual. Like most tropical plants, flowers are present

throughout the year but appear in abundance before the rain starts.

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• Only a small proportion of all the flowers develop into fruit over a period of about five months. Each tree will yield 20-30 pods per year and the peak time for harvesting is between September and December in West Africa.

The pods are hard and melon shaped, between

15-20cm long and each weighing about 450g

each. When the pods are ripe they change

from green to yellow, red or orange. Each pod

contains 20-40 seeds which when dried are

the cocoa beans of commerce.

It takes the whole year's crop from one tree to
make 450gms of chocolate.

what climate condiitions are needed?

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• The natural habitat of the cocoa tree is in the lower storey of the evergreen rainforest, and climatic factors, particularly temperature and rainfall, are important in encouraging optimum growth.

temperature

• Cocoa plants respond well to relatively high temperatures, with a maximum annual average of 30 - 32ºC and a minimum average of 18 - 21ºC.

rainfall

• Variations in the yield of cocoa trees from year to year are affected more by rainfall than by any other climatic factor. Trees are very sensitive to a soil water deficiency. Rainfall should be plentiful and well distributed through the year. An annual rainfall level of between 1,500mm and 2,000mm is generally preferred. Dry spells, where rainfall is less than 100mm per month, should not exceed three months.

humidity

• A hot and humid atmosphere is essential for the optimum development of cocoa trees. In cocoa producing countries, relative humidity is generally high: often as much as 100% during the day, falling to 70-80% during the night.

light & shade

• The cocoa tree will make optimum use of any light available and traditionally has been grown under shade. Its natural environment is the Amazonian forest which provides natural shade trees. Shading is indispensable in a cocoa tree's early years.

how is it processed and manufactured?

During fermentation the pulp and astringency of the beans are removed as the sugar in the pulp turns to
alcohol and vinegar-like liquids, which drain away and the true chocolate flavour starts to develop.
When fermentation is complete the wet mass of beans is dried, traditionally by being spread in the
sun on mats.

The cured beans are packed
into sacks for transportation
to Singapore where Cadbury
process the cocoa beans.
Stringent quality control
procedures are carried out as
samples are checked to
ensure that standards are
maintained before cocoa
beans are bought from the
farmer and again during
transportation.

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• Cadbury's cocoa factory at Singapore operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, producing the basic ingredients from which all Cadbury chocolate products are made. 18,000 tonnes of cocoa beans are processed each year using the latest technological control systems to ensure that the end product is of the highest quality. On arrival at the factory, the cocoa beans are sorted and cleaned. They are then treated through a microniser to break the shell and a winnower to remove the shell. The beans are broken down into small pieces called nibs and are subsequently roasted at a temperature of 135ºC. The actual roasting time depends on whether the end use is for cocoa or chocolate.

sorting the beans

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• During roasting, the cocoa nibs darken in colour and acquire their characteristic chocolate flavour. This flavour however, had actually started to develop during fermentation back on the farm. Cocoa nibs are ground in stone mills until the friction and heat of the milling reduces them to a thick chocolate coloured liquid, known as 'mass', which contains 53-58% cocoa butter and solidifies on cooling. This is the basis of all chocolate and cocoa products.

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• Cocoa powder is made by extracting about half the cocoa butter in heavy presses. The amount of cocoa butter removed is specified in the ANZFA food laws. The solid blocks of compressed cocoa remaining after extraction is pulverised into a fine powder to produce a high-grade cocoa powder for use as a beverage or in cooking. The extracted cocoa butter is used in the recipes for the wide range of Cadbury's chocolate, the most famous brand being Cadbury's Dairy Milk, Australia’s favourite moulded chocolate bar.

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• Production starts at the Singapore cocoa factory where the top quality cocoa beans are processed to produce the cocoa mass containing 53 % cocoa butter plus extracted cocoa butter, the basis for all chocolate products.

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• At the milk processing factory in Burnie, fresh liquid full cream milk is collected and condensed for transport by road tanker to Claremont. Sugar is added to the condensed milk with some of the cocoa mass, making a rich creamy chocolate liquid which is then evaporated to make milk chocolate crumb. As these ingredients are cooked together the very special rich creamy taste of Cadbury's chocolate is produced.

Both milk and dark chocolate, undergo the same final special production stages, such as refining and conching
which produce the famous smoothness, gloss and snap of Cadbury's chocolate.

Conching involves mixing and beating the semi-liquid
mixture to develop the flavour, removing unwanted volatile
flavours and reducing the viscosity and particle size.

Tempering is the final crucial stage. It is a complex process which in simple terms involves
mixing and cooling the liquid chocolate under carefully controlled conditions to ensure that
the fat in the chocolate crystallises in its most stable form. Highly sophisticated machinery
has been developed for this process and the control of it is one of the skills of the
chocolatier.

where is it sold?

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• Chocolat has been a best seller in Britain and around the world for nearly 100 years. The Cadbury factory is still in Birmingham and the chocolate produced there is eaten all over the world. Every year, thousands of visitors visit the factory to see how chocolate is made.