cocoa fermentation
process / process-cocoa-fermentation
カカオ発酵
Postharvest fermentation of cocoa pulp and beans, carried out before drying.
On this page (6 sections)
Reading the bitterness
How the taste of the finished chocolate is expressed has also been compared when yeast is added during fermentation. In this test, 100 kg batches of Brazilian PS1319 were fermented in wooden boxes for 168 hours, either spontaneously or with 3 types of yeast added, and made into 70% chocolate. In a Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) test in which a trained panel followed about 2.5 g for 35 seconds, bitterness and cacao were the dominant attributes in both, and in the yeast-inoculated batches, bitterness emerged as the main dominant attribute. Dominance in TDS is not bitterness intensity itself.
Lengthening fermentation does not necessarily move bitterness in the same direction. At 3 facilities in Colombia, beans were taken from 3 fermentation boxes each on day 4 and day 7, and a trained panel of 5 evaluated the dried, roasted, and ground cacao paste on a 0-10 scale. Bitterness and astringency increased toward day 7 at ASA and COC, but decreased at CMI. Because the clonal composition of the raw material, bean quantity, turning, and drying conditions also differed by facility, the effect of fermentation days alone cannot be separated out from this result.
Sources for this overview
Checked for this overview: Used for PS1319, 100 kg, 168 hours in wooden boxes, spontaneous fermentation and 3-yeast inoculation, 70% chocolate, about 2.5 g over 35 seconds of TDS, and the distinction between dominance and intensity.
Checked for this overview: Used for 3 facilities, 3 fermentation boxes each, day 4 and day 7, 5 panelists on a 0-10 scale, the opposite bitterness/astringency direction by facility, and the raw-material/process limitation.
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Sensory (2)
Scope: Brazilian PS1319, 100 kg wooden boxes, 168 hours of fermentation, 3 replicates per batch, about 2.5 g of 70% chocolate, 35-second TDS by a trained panel
Note: TDS is the dominance rate of the attribute that draws attention at each time point, not a score of bitterness intensity. The number of panelists is not stated in the text.
Show data
process-cocoa-fermentation —has_sensory_response→ "In TDS of 70% chocolate made from the spontaneous-fermentation batch and the 3-yeast-starter-inoculated batch, bitterness and cacao were the dominant attributes in both, and in the inoculated batch, bitterness emerged as the main dominant attribute during the 35-second observation"Scope: 3 fermentation boxes per facility, sampled on day 4 and day 7, dried, roasted, and ground paste, a trained panel of 5, a 0-10 intensity scale
Note: Because the clonal composition of the beans, fermentation quantity, turning, and drying conditions differ by facility, this is not treated as a consistent-direction effect of fermentation days alone.
Show data
process-cocoa-fermentation —has_perceived_bitterness_affected_by→ "Comparing day 4 and day 7 at the 3 Colombian facilities, bitterness and astringency in the cacao paste increased at ASA and COC, and decreased at CMI"How processing and cooking change it (1)
Scope: 3 cacao genotypes (CCN 51, ICS 95, TCS 01), 3 temperature-controlled fermentation profiles
Note: A non-monotonic trajectory. Only 3 genotypes were tested, and temperature-controlled fermentation is a different thing from natural fermentation.
Show data
process-cocoa-fermentation —can_change→ "Theobromine and caffeine concentrations decreased through day 5 and increased by day 6, while catechin rose through day 5 and decreased by day 6"