Homemade Cocoa Powder Pt 2...

Whenever I'm ready to use cocoa powder...

there is no need to go to the market for it

this is a continuation from my last post

the cocoa beans (which are actually the seeds of the cacao fruit)

are put on a cookie tray and roasted at 200* F for about 20 minutes...

or until the hull is easy to slip off the bean

the hulls get put into the compost and the beans are ready for grinding

because I usually use just enough beans for a recipe...

the coffee grinder is enough to do the job

and the beans are ground to a fine powder in just a few seconds

when I need a larger amount...

the food processor is more convenient

it is as simple as that

a cup of roasted cocoa beans will make a cup of powdered cocoa

and I can tell you...

the taste of fresh ground cocoa is nicer than shelved cocoa from a long time ago

the same way...

fresh ground coffee always tastes better than shelved sittin' around...

for who knows how long : )

while commercial cocoa powder is refinely processed...

our cocoa powder is truly unrefined and fresh from the tree

and I know that in this fresh state, it probably has most of it's antioxidant nutrients intact

if your market sells it, use organic, raw cocoa powder for your baking and cooking

And God said,

Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,

which is upon the face of all the earth,

and every tree,

in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;

to you it shall be for meat.

Genesis 1:29

May your day or night be fruitful in the grace of the Lord.

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.  

Future Chocolate...

That hard working husband of mine...

packed in pounds and pounds of cacao

hauling each heavy bucket up the hill

this work has put muscles into those biceps...

his former life of professional work never did

and I can tell you...

office work is not nearly as exciting...

as hauling cacao to the market from your own cocoa orchard

this haul is about 335 pounds

not bad for a day's work

here's looking at chocolate lovers everywhere

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

A Rosie Cocoa Day...

Every other Wednesday is cocoa day...

the cocoa pods slowly ripen from a minty green...

to  a rosey color...

while the cacao seeds grow and fill the inside of the pod

when the pods are a deep rose color...

it is time to harvest

the cacao pod is split open in the middle...

and the seeds are taken out...

and put into buckets

the dark seeds grow covered with a white, sweet, juicy, edible pulp...

that is fun to eat like candy

we take the cacao in to the cocoa association on the island...

either, wet or dry

most times, we take it in wet and they do the drying

a higher price is fetched when we do the drying ourselves

it just all depends on how much time we want to take to dry the cocoa...

it can take up to 2 weeks to dry in the sun

this is what I do with the cocoa we keep for ourselves...

we dry it in the sun;

roast it lightly to easily shell and bring out the cocoa flavor;

then, bag it to store in the pantry

I put some into my "coffee" mill jar to store for our evening cocoa tea

this jar has a mill on top to grind the beans for making cocoa tea...

I use my electric coffee grinder for a more powdery cocoa for baking

Now, I have got to show you my new rose...

my tiny rose bush has grown and blossomed out another soft pink rose...

this is not the same rose I put up on this post...

it is a second rose that quietly bloomed overnight...

and made me cry out in delight to my husband to come see!

I must say...

it wasn't quite as exciting to him, but that is okay...

he wanted the rose for me

may your day, or night be blooming ever so pretty

Cocoa Delight Harvest...

Our farm is part of a long ago cocoa plantation.

We have kept the cocoa trees and they still are doing well in spite of being covered for years under overgrown vines.

The vines are now gone and we are harvesting cocoa.

Cocoa is very much up my alley.

I am a choco-holic.

The bean pods are very beautiful to look at...many of them in two colors.

I do like the green and red one best.

The trees give so much cool shade, while fallen leaves carpet the ground.

Just a few of the many cocoa pods we have harvested.

They are already looking rather delicious.

These beans are still in their pulp and ready to be "sweated".

The beans will be laid and covered on a screen to allow the pulp juices to melt away and expose the beans.

By the way, the pulp is edible and has a sweet taste that is refreshing.

After the beans have sweated for some days, they are ready to be laid out in the sun to dry.

This is the result of natural sun drying.

The skin is then dry enough to easily come off the bean.

That is all there is to it.

The beans are then ready to use.

I roast them lightly...grind them fine...and make cocoa tea with spices, raw sugar and coconut milk.

That's my sweet hubby doing the honors of hand grinding.

We like doing things by hand.

We make our own coconut milk and grind our own spices.

It ensures freshness and tastes better that way.

It's all part of the enjoyment of doing things the old way.

It can't get any better than that.  

Here's wishing you a great day-or night.