Homemade Cocoa Powder: Pt 1...


We have a cocoa orchard on our Pilgrim's Farm

that makes it convenient for making our own cocoa powder

I thought perhaps you might be interested in knowing how we do this



below, is a photo of the backside of the cocoa orchard...
and you are looking at some of the trees



we know the cacao pods are ready to harvest when they turn a deep yellow or red



my husband takes his cocoa picker and selects the ripe ones...
with Foxie "helping", of course



she loves to go chasing after the falling pod and bring it back up the hill




my husband opens up the pod



to reveal the pulpy seeds



and puts the seeds into a box for "sweating" preparation



the creamy pulp on the outside of the bean is edible...
and quite sweet when the cocoa is fully ripe
(btw, a cocoa seed can only be sown and grown when still wet with the pulp)



Foxie knows how good it tastes



and for her "hard work" of picking up the pods that roll down the hill...
she gets a wee bit of it and will lick the fingers clean



once the beans are in the box...



my husband puts freshly picked green banana leaves...



and carefully covers the beans



he makes sure the leaves cover the beans tightly enough...
to induce them to "sweat" the pulp off

the covering keeps the warmth in and this actually causes the pulp to melt
this process is also known as fermenting the cacao



then, he will cover the fresh leaves with dry ones to keep the green leaves from drying out...
and shrinking to expose the beans to air



the cocoa beans are then set aside and let to "sweat" for at least a week or two...
depending on the weather



after the beans have "sweated" off their pulpy covering and...
dried in the sun for another week or two...
this is what they look like


part 2 of this process coming up later this week

May your day or night be most blessed with God's grace.