Some assume that purchasing chocolate made with fine cacao is directly helping those who grow this expensive cacao. This isn’t necessarily the case in Ecuador, where the most fine cacao in the world is grown. This research looks into the livelihoods of the growers in Ecuador, and the trade-offs of growing bulk versus fine cacao.
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Although fermentation impacts the flavour and qualities of the cacao, it appears that the type of cacao somehow impacts the types and populations of microorganisms. It seems as though type of cacao impacts to a degree how it ferments, which will impact the flavour and qualities of the final chocolate.
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The impact pod storage has on the cocoa pods as well as the cocoa seeds. Can pod storage improve the aroma profile of cacao and offer farmers the chance to improve the flavour of their bulk cacao?
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The fruit of the cacao is why humans first took an interest in this plant, which eventually lead to the making chocolate from its seeds. The cacao fruit is crucial to the process of making chocolate, but how important is its flavour? Bertus Eskes and a team of researchers conduct a few experiments with this question in mind.
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Dark fine chocolate will contain aromas other than chocolate. Just as fine wine and coffee can be described with containing notes of cherry, wood, or roasted almond, fine dark chocolate can be explained in the same way. Where does this flavour come from? It's not added to the chocolate, its contained within the cacao seed, and is created and maintained through quality processing.
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