Cocoa World Production

(2015/2016)
No. Country Production
(1000 ton/year)
1. Cote de Ivory 1,690
2. Ghana 840

3. Indonesia 300
4. Equador 230

5. Cameroon 230
Distribution of
Wild Theobroma
 Domestication of Theobroma cacao

Criollo
• Origin
– Eastern slopes of Andes Forastero
– Amazon-Orinoco basin
• Dispersal
– North -> Criollo
– East -> Forastero
• Domestication
– Central America
 Domestication of Theobroma cacao

Criollo

• Amazonia Forastero
– Acid sweet pulp
– Semi domesticated
• Central America
– Mayans and Aztecs – lowlands
• Divine origin
• Currency
– Beverage – bitter flavor
• Cacao beans
• Ground corn
• Caspicum pepper
 Domestication of Theobroma cacao

1600s 1500s
Asia
i ni t ar io
Criollo Tr

17
• Europeans Africa

00
1600 s

s
– Hernan Cortes in 1527
Forastero
– Initially not accepted
– Sweetened drink
• Spanish secret for 100 years
– Solid chocolate
• 1825
• Criollo material
– 1525 planted in
• Trinidad, Venezula
• Jamaica, Haiti
• Windward Islands
Cultivated Species of Cocoa
The Criollo
The Amazonian forastero
The Trinitario
The Criollo group
 The Criollo group
 Cultivated in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala.
 Most anciently cultivated.
 Poor cacao vigour.
 High susceptibity to diseases.
 Slender cacao with green pods.
 Watty, thin and soft pericarp.
 Lignified mesocarp.
 Plump beans, embedded in pulpy mucilage with white cotyledons.
 Fermented and dried cotyledons are light brown.
 Excellent bean flavour.
The Amazonian Forastero Group
 The Amazonian Forastero Group
 Cultivated in Brazil, West Africa, Central America, South
East Asia and Caribbean Island.
 Staminodes with purple pigments.
 Green and varying shapes of cocoa pods.
 Thick pericarp and very woody mesocarp.
 More or less flat beans
 Dark purple cotyledons
 Relatively bitter flavour and acid taste.
 West African Amelonado belongs to this group.
 The Trinitario Group
 Believed to evolve from a cross between Forastero and Criollo
groups.
 Highly heterogeneous group.
 Selected from Trinidad, hence the name Trinitario.
 Cultivated in Mexico, Central America, Trinidad, Colombia,
Venezuela and some African and South East Asian countries.
 Botanical traits are intermediate between Forastero and criollo
groups
 Bean flavour is also intermediate between Forastero and Criollo
groups.
World Production of Cacao
Most grown within 8º of the equator
 Botany and Agronomy of Cocoa
 Cocoa is cauliflorous and semi-desidous.
 Height, leaf area, branches and canopy spread of cacao determined
by planting spacing.
 When grown from seeds cacao attains anthesis between 24 and 36
MAT (month after transplanting) and fully matured at about 10
YAT (year after transplanting)
 A well managed cocoa continue to be economic for over 50 years.
 Dimorphous root: Orthotropic taproot and Plagiotropic lateral root.
 3 to 4 DAS (days after sowing) cocoa seeds start germinating
through the emergence of whitish taproot and lateral roots.
 10 YAT, taproot well developed, (1.5 m) with a mass of root hairs
covering 5 – 6 m around cacao.
 Botany and Agronomy of Cocoa
 Stem growth is orthotropic holding the leaves.
 The orthotropic growth is intermittently interrupted by the
degeneration of the terminal bud, below which branches develop –
Jorquette.
 Thus, there can be 1st and 2nd jorquette which form the framework of
cacao
 Pruning starts at the level of 2nd jorquette through the removal of
excessive orthotropic shoots – chupons.
 Growth in cacao is discontinuous and in successive growth phases –
flushes.
 Each flush results in the production of 5 – 6 alternate leaves with short
petioles and 4 – 5 flushes occur in a year.
 The young pigmented leaves may be pale-green, pink or deep blue
depending on variety, mature leaves are dark-green with 7 – 9cm
petiole length.
 Flowering is marked indicator of successful field establishment, and
anthesis may be attained in 2 years in improved varieties and it may
take a longer period in unimproved varieties of cocoa.
 Botany and Agronomy of Cocoa
 Flowering depends on favourable physiological, soil and climatic
conditions.
 In mature cocoa, fruiting occurs twice a year in the tropics – dry
(November / December) and rainy (June / July) seasons.
 Cocoa is an out-breeder and an entomophilous plant. Pollinators –
midges, ants, thrips and leaf hoppers.
 Within 36 hours after pollination, fertilization occurs leading to the
formation of a young okra-sized pod – cherelle.
 Cherelle continues to develop by longitudinal elongation and girth
increase to become a fully-grown mature cocoa pod.
 It takes up to 150 – 180 days between fertilization and pod maturation.
Ripe pods are light-yellow in colour and thus ready for harvesting.
 A cocoa pod contains 30 – 40 beans on the average and 50 – 60 pods
needed to plant an hectare of cocoa spaced 3m x 3m.
 Cocoa

Adapted to hot humid Tropics

 Adaptation of Cacao
Understorey plant of tropical rain forest
• Temperature
– 18-32ºC (23-26ºC)
– 15ºC lowest tolerated
– Below 10ºC damages tree
• Moisture
– 1150 – 2500 mm (1500-2000 mm)
– Well distributed, sensitive to water stress
– Needs high humidity
• Wind
– Sensitive to wind damage
 Adaptation of Cacao
Understorey plant of tropical rain forest

• Shade
– Tolerant of shade
– Maximum photosynthesis at 25% full sun
– Tolerates high light as well
• Soil
– Well drained, no waterlogging
– pH between 5.0 – 7.5
– Good nutrient holding capacity
 Site Selection
 2 major factors must be considered while selecting a site for cocoa
plantations establishment: climatic and soil factors.

 Climatic factors:
 Cocoa is a low altitude crop, performing best within 100 – 300m
above sea level (asl). It can be grown at 700m asl.
 Cocoa is sensitive to water deficiency particularly when in
competition with other plants (shade plants, wind breaks and
weeds) and also to excess water in the soil
 It thrives within wide rainfall ranges of 1000 – 3000mm or more
per year.
 The site should enjoy an evenly distributed rainfall of
150mm/month and at least for 9 months.
 With provision of irrigation and limited occurrence of dry winds,
cocoa can be cultivated completely without rain.
 Cocoa responds to temperature variations: the maximum being 30
-320C while the minimum is 18 – 210C. At a temperature lower
than 100C, cacao becomes damaged.
 Climatic factors.
 Cocoa enjoys high relative humidity of between of between 70 –
80%, above which disease infection occurs and below which
(obtainable in the dry season) cocoa leaves become limp and droop,
thus causing severe defoliation.
 The deleterious effects of drying and strong winds is reduced through
wind breaks, shade trees or even by high density planting. This is
because cacao rooting is superficial thus offering little tolerance to
strong and drying winds.
 At early stage of cocoa plantation establishment, temporary shading is
indispensable. A temporary shading / a nurse plant should meet the
following conditions :
1. Easy establishment
2. Provision of good overhead shade throughout the dry season
3. Little competition with young cocoa transplants for moisture and nutrients
4. Should not serve as alternative host to cocoa disease and insect pests
5. Easy removal when no longer needed
6. Its removal should not pose any threat to the plantation.
 Soil Factors
The soil on which cocoa will be planted should satisfy the
conditions such as:
The soil must be at least 1.5 m deep.
The soil structure must be as homogenous as possible.
It must have good water-retaining capacity, well-drained
and well aerated.
Sandy soil is not suitable except it contains high organic
matter and not under prolonged hot and dry season.
It must be of acceptable chemical properties.
It must have pH of between 5 and 8 – optimum being 6.5.
High organic matter content in the topsoil is essential for
good growth and high productivity.
 Cocoa Cultivation
• Land Preparation
• Planting Material
• Transplanting
• Maintenance of young non reproductive
cocoa
• Maintenance of reproductive cocoa
 Land Preparation
 In preparing the land for cocoa transplanting, some
trees are left unfelled to act as windbreaks (upper
storey).
 The field should have been planted to a temporary
shade of plantain suckers the previous year or
simultaneously with cocoa seedlings (middle storey)
at same planting density with cocoa (100% shade
density).
 Both upper and middle storey are to provide
conducive environments for cocoa transplants when
eventually transplanted.
 Land Preparation
• Selective land clearing
It is introduced when there have been other
important crops such as coconut (backyard, existing
plantation area)
• Total land clearing
1. Secondary forest
2. Reedy Open land area (shrub)
 Crop Shading
• Ground crop shading
It can be used to control erosion
• Temporary crop shading
It can be used to protect the cacao during vegetative
growth
• Permanent crop shading
it can be used for wind breaking
 Ground Crop Shading
Legume plants:
1. Ground shade crops:
 Mucuna spp (Mucuna)
 Centrosoma pubescent (Centrosomoma)
 Calopogonium mucunoides
2. Legume foodcrops
 Arachis hypogaea (groundnut)
 Glycine max (soybean)
 Vigna unguilata (cowpea)
 Vigna radiata (mungbean)
 Temporary Crop shading
1. Crotalaria spp.
2. Leucaena glauca
3. Carica papaya
4. Manihot utilissima
5. Cajanus cajan
6. Musa spp.
 Permanent Crop Shading
1. Gliricidia sepium (Gliricidae)
2. Albizia spp. (Albizia)
3. Mangefera indica (Mango)
4. Eugenia caryophyllus (Clove)
5. Myristica fragrans (Nutmeg)
6. Manilkara kauki (Sapodilla)
7. Anacardium acadentale (Caschew)
8. Cocos nucifera (Coconut)
9. Area catechu (Area palm)
 Planting Materials
• Seedlings
– Most common
– Seed orchards
• Vegetative propagation
– Rooted stem cuttings
• Rootability varies with cultivar
– Budding and Graftinng
– Marcutting (air layering)
– Plant tissue culture
 Seedlings
 Cocoa beans readily germinate when sown and lose viability easily on
extraction from pods within 5 – 7 days unless specially treated with moist
fine sand or sawdust. They retain viability for 4 weeks inside pod after
harvesting
 Nursery establishment is done between December and February, in order
to allow the seedlings a period of 4 months under intensive care
 Seedlings bags of 20/25cm x 12cm are used for raising the seedlings. The
are filled with sifted top soil, heavily watered the previous day and
arranged under a shade in the nursery
 The beans are sown at seeding rate of 2 per bag and later thinned to 1 per
bag after germination. Daily light watering till germination at 7 -10 days.
Adequate watering follows
 Regularly examine for the incidence of disease and insect pests. Seedlings
that show symptoms of bacterial or viral infections must be burnt outside
the plot. Fungal and insect attacks are chemically controlled.
 Root Stem Cutting
 In rooting stem cuttings, the following precautions should be adhered to:
 Fan branches should be taken for rooting
 Cuttings should be taken in the early hours of the day and setting done same
day.
 The stem base of the cutting should not be thicker than the stem of a lead
pencil.
 Set cuttings in an humidified chamber made of transparent polythene sheet.
 A fine jet sprayer should be used for watering to saturate the air inside the
chamber.
 After successful rooting (ramets), cuttings should be hardened off and
subsequently kept in the nursery till transplanting.
 The shade provided should be uniform
 If sawdust should be used, it should have been partially weathered – 3 months
in the dumping site.
 The hardened off ramets are transplanted into the field under a combined
temporary and permanent shading.
 Grafting and Budding
• Grafting and budding are vegetative methods
used to
1. Propagate plants of a clone whose cuttings are
difficult to root.
2. Make use of a particular root-stock rather than
having the plant on its own roots.

Certain rootstocks are often utilized to

– Obtain a dwarfed or invigorated plant
– Give resistance to soil-borne pests.
 Grafting
• Joining separate plant parts together so that
they form a union and grow together to
make one plant.

Approach Graft
 Grafting
• The scion is that part of the graft combination that is
to become the upper or top portion of the plant.
– Usually the scion is a piece of stem tissue several
inches long with two to four buds).
– If this piece is reduced in size so there is just one
bud, with a thin layer of bark and wood under it,
then the operation is termed budding.
• The rootstock is the lower part of the graft
combination, the part that is to become the root
system.
 Use of Grafting
1. Change the fruiting cultivar in a fruit tree or
grapevine to a different one (top-grafting).
2. Repair the damaged trunk of a tree (bridge-
grafting)
3. Replace an injured root system (inarching).
4. Study the transmission of viral diseases.
 Methods of Grafting
• If the scion and rootstock are the
same size
–wedge
–splice
–whip and tongue
–Top/simple
–approach
 Methods of Grafting
• If the scion is smaller than the
rootstock
–cleft
–side
–notch
–bark inlay
 Budding
• A form of grafting when a bud is used
– patch budding
– T-budding
– Chip Budding

Chip Budding
 T-budding

Step 2
Step 4

Step 1
Step 3
 Healing of the Graft and Bud
Union
1. The cambial layers of rootstock and scion are brought into
intimate contact.
2. They are held in place by wedging, nailing, or wrapping so
that the parts cannot move about or become dislodged.
3. Then the graft union is thoroughly covered with plastic or
cloth tape or, better, by grafting wax to keep out air.
4. The union heals by callus production from young tissues
near the cambium layers of both rootstock and scion.
 Limits of Grafting
The partner (stock and scion) in the combination must have
some degree of botanical relationship—the closer the better.

Case Rate of success Example

Scion Rootstock

Same family but A few cases have Common sweet or­ Deciduous large shrub
different genera completely successful ange (Citrus trifoliate orange (Poncirus
sinesis), a large trifoliatd)
evergreen tree
Same genus but Many such graft Almonds (Prunus. Peach seedlings (P. persica)
different species combinations will not dulcis), apricots
unite (P. ar-meniaca)
Different Almost 100 percent that Jonathan apple tree Any other apple cultivar, for
cultivars (clones) the graft combination will (Malus pumila) example, the Golden
within a species succeed Delicious (Malus pumila).
 Graft Incompatibility
• Incompatibility in grafting is the failure of two
different plants, grafted together, to produce a
successful union and to develop satisfactorily into one
composite plant.
• The causes for graft incompatibility are little
understood in spite of many years of research into the
problem. There is some evidence, however, that in
certain graft combinations one partner (scion or stock)
produces chemicals that are toxic to the other, killing
the entire plant.
 Transplanting
 Vigorous seedlings are transplanted with ball-of-earth at the
age of 4 – 5 months. Bare-rooted seedlings are treated with
clay slurry or artificial polymer before transplanting.
 Transplanting of overgrown seedlings, seedlings in flush or
seedlings with broken taproot results in high seedlings
mortality / low survival percentage after transplanting.
 Alternatively, cocoa can be transplanted into a selectively
thinned forest or along traces cut through regrown forests.
 The crop is transplanted at a spacing of 3 m x 3 m giving a
plating density of 1,111 plants/ha. High density planting in
cocoa is practicable.
 Planting
• Density
– Closer spacing -> greater early yields
– 2.5 m x 2.5m (1600/ha) – West Africa
– 4 m x 4 m (625/ha) – Americas
– 5m x 5m (400/ha) – Sri Lanka
• Planting time: rainy season
– Transplanting nursery plants
• Time to first flowering
– 18 months from transplanting
 Manuring
• Cocoa grown under shade is seldom manure
• Application of fertilized would be economics when
mature cocoa is grown under adequate shade
• When grown under favorable condition with no-shade
spectacular response to nitrogen has been obtained
Recommended Fertilizer (g/plant/year)
Ages (year) Urea TSP KCl Kiserite
0–1 25 25 20 20
1- 2 45 45 35 40
2- 3 90 90 70 60
3 -4 180 180 135 75
>4 220 180 170 120
 Pruning
A horticultural and silvicultural practice
involving the selective removal of parts of a
plant, such as branches, buds, or roots.
Remove crossing branches and branches that
grow back towards the center of the tree.

The objective of pruning is to produce strong,

healthy, attractive plants
 Reasons for Pruning
 Pruning for safety involves removing branches
that could fall and cause injury or property
damage, trimming branches that interfere with
lines of sight on streets or driveways, and
removing branches that grow into utility lines
 Pruning for health involves removing diseased
or insect-infested wood
 Removing crossing and rubbing branches.
Pruning can best be used to encourage trees to
develop a strong structure and reduce the
likelihood of damage during severe weather
 Pruning for aesthetics involves enhancing the
natural form and character of tree
 Cherelle wilt
 This is a physiological problem affecting
only cherelles – 10cm long or less
 The cherelles suddenly wilt and die. Dead
cherelles are seen hanging on cacao.
 It results in 40 – 50% loss of the total pod set.
 It is measure by which cacao regulates the
number of pods it is able to carry to maturity
– physiological cherelle wilt.
 Major insect pests of cocoa
1. Cocoa Mirids (Capsids or Jori-jori):
 The insects attack both young and mature cacao.
 Mirids feed at night and rest during the day at the axils of
leaves and behind the pods.
 Mirids are vectors of weak fungal pathogens especially die-
back infections.
 Cocoa mirids are of 3 types:
(1) Sahlbergella singularis (Brown mirids):
Feed on pods, chupons, soft and hard wood branches and tips.
(2) Distantiella theobromae (Brown mirids):
Feed on pods, chupons and fresh green shoots especially, on young plants. Mainly
found in Ife-Ondo-Akure area of Nigeria.
(3) Helopeltis bergrothi (Cacao mosquito):
Feed on pods.
Cacao mosqoitos (Helopeltis sp.)

(Hemiptera : Miridae))
Tri Harjaka UGM 53
Tri Harjaka UGM 54
2. Pod borrer
Mealy bugs are vectors of viral disease especially swollen
shoot.
Control methods:
 Chemical control method is effective, but the hard cuticle of the
insect prevents penetration of the insecticide.
Use of systemic insecticide through cacao results in toxicity of cocoa.
Chemically killing the ants that provide shelter for mealy bugs is
found effective.
Exposure of mealy bugs following killing of the ants results in the
reduction in numbers of the mealy bugs.
 Biological control method through the use of mealy bug predators
has not been effective.
Spraying of a fungus (Cephalosporium sp.) cultured in rice and
crushed in water is very effective against these mealy bugs.
Pod Borrer (Conopomorpha cramerella)

(Lepidoptera : Glacillaridae)
Tri Harjaka UGM ) 56
Pod borrer: Conopomorpha cramerella

(Lepidoptera : Glacillaridae)
Tri Harjaka UGM 57
 Pod borrer:
Conopomorpha cramerella (Lepidoptera :
Glacillaridae)

Tri Harjaka UGM 58

 Cocoa Disease Pest
 Black pod / Phytophtora pod rot:
 Most serious disease of cocoa in West Africa, especially, Nigeria and
Cameroon.
 Caused by Phytophtora megakarya, during the rainy season when the
relative humidity is higher than 80%.
 The causative organism had hitherto been P. palmivora, but the strains had
been brought to a low level.
 Damage characteristics include:
 rotting of pods which begins with small brown spot with irregular water soaked margins.
 Tiny whitish downy mould, at the centre of the brown spot
 Enlargement of brown spot and downy mould until the entire pod is covered
 The beans contained become rotted. This may take up to 18 days in matured and
normal-sized pods.
 Phytophtora pod-rot is different from cherelle wilt, which is a physiological
disorder.
 Under severe attacks, especially when there is long periods of rains cool
weather, chupons, seedlings and leaves are attacked and killed.
 The spread is through and infected pod by rain drops.
Black-pod

Tri Harjaka UGM 60

A cocoa pod infected by P. megakarya.
 Control of Phytophtora pod rot
 The incidence of the disease is preferably prevented in
the cocoa plantation through:
Frequent removal of weeds / other plants that can increase the
relative humidity of the plantation.
Removal and burning of the infected cocoa pods
Application of the copper-based fungicides to control the
incidence.
The use of resistant / tolerant varieties.
Harvesting and post-harvest handling of cocoa
 It takes 150 – 180 days between pollination and ripening in cocoa, depending on
varieties.
 Only mature and ripe pods are harvested, diseased and damaged pods must not be
processed for markets.
 Harvesting should be regular and frequent in order to avoid damage due to over-
ripening, disease and animals.
 In a case of irregular / delayed harvesting, the beans start germinating in-situ, such
cocoa is unsuitable for marketing.
 Harvesting of unripe cocoa pods results in poor-quality beans with low aromatic
compounds after fermentation.
 During harvesting flower cushion must not be damaged, if damaged, subsequent
years’ harvests will be reduced.
 Cocoa pods must not be pulled off in order to avoid any damage to flower cushions.
 Pods are ready for harvesting when colour changes from green to yellow/pink/red,
depending on varieties.
 Preparation of Commercial Cocoa
 In order to be sold as cocoa beans, the fresh cocoa
removed from pods have to undergo two very important
processes – Fermentation and Drying.
 The main aim of which include:
1. To remove the mucilaginous pulp which surrounds the beans.
2. To cause the death of the embryo and consequently prevents
it from germinating.
3. To bring about complicated biochemical changes inside the
cotyledons, leading to a reduction in the bitterness and
astringency thus enabling the precursors of the chocolate
flavour to develop.
4. Finally, to reduce the water content of the fermented beans
from approximately 60% to 6 – 7%, in order to block the
enzymatic reactions and to enable the commercial product to
be stored safely, free from pests and diseases.
 Fermentation
a process by which mucilaginous pulp surrounding the beans is
removed under the gradual influence of heat and pressure for the
purpose of removing the beans’ bitter taste and the development of
acceptable bean flavour and colour.
It is necessary to ferment cocoa beans in order to fulfill the
following conditions:
 To get the proper taste, colour and flavour associated with cocoa products.
 To kill the embryo and stop germination.
 To remove pulp/mucilage so that the beans may dry properly.
 To loosen the skin from the cotyledon thereby allowing easy and proper de-shelling
during processing.

Cocoa is fermented by different methods of fermentation which

include:
 Heap fermentation
 Basket fermentation
 Sweat box fermentation
 Tray fermentation.
 Factors Affecting Fermentation of Commercial Cocoa.

 The degree of ripeness of cocoa pods.

 Healthiness of cocoa pods.
 Types of cocoa: Criollos ferment at a shorter periods compared to Forasteros and
Trinitarios.
 Climatic and seasonal variations:
 Low temperature of high altitude (800 m asl) slows the rate of fermentation.
 The weight of pulp and sugars per bean depend on growing conditions.
 Bean has limited amount of pulp during the dry season.
 Quantity of cocoa:
 A minimum quantity of about 70 – 90 kg of fresh bean is needed per fermentation unit in
order to have a satisfactory fermentation.
 Duration of fermentation:
 A complete fermentation gives the bean a uniform brown colouration.
 Inadequately fermented cocoa bean has purple colour and this gives a bitter and astringent
product.
 An excessively long fermented cocoa bean runs the serious risk of having a very bad taste
due to the commencement of putrid fermentation.
 Fermented beans
Underfermented

Partly fermented

Fully fermented
Fermented beans
Purple beans,
not fully
fermented
Fermented beans
Brown bean, fully
fermented (common
Forastero type)
Fermented beans
Brown bean,
fully fermented
 Drying
 The aim of drying:
 to reduce the water content of fermented cocoa beans from about 60 % to 8 %.
 to ensure that cocoa is kept under good conditions for storage and transportation.
 If drying is slow, mould may develop.
 If drying is too rapid, oxidation may be prevented, acetic acid may be retained in the cotyledon
resulting in excessive acidity of the cocoa beans.
 Flat beans, germinated beans and broken beans as well as foreign bodies must be removed.

 Methods of drying.
 Sun-drying
 Drying autobus
 Movable roof dryer.
 Simple dryers
 Mechanical dryers
 Automated workshops.

 Test for dryness.

 A well-dried cocoa bean will crack when squeezed between the fingers.
 Cut through the sample beans with a knife, if properly dried, the cotyledon will separate easily.
• Grading of cocoa.
– Grade 1 cocoa: less than 3 % slaty, mouldy and defective beans each.
– Grade 2 cocoa: less than 5 %, 4 % and 5 % slaty, mouldy and defective beans
respectively.
– The international standards state that the net weight of a cocoa bag must be 62.5 kg, (16
bags makes a ton).
 
• Cleaning and bagging of cocoa.
– Sorting and elimination of flat, broken, germinated beans and other impurities.
– The beans are packed in jute bags.
– Polythene bags must not be used for bagging cocoa.
 
• Storage of commercial cocoa.
– The international standards stipulate the following conditions.
– The ambient humidity must not exceed 70 %.
– The bags must be stored at least 7 cm above the ground in order to allow air circulation.
– There must be at least a passage of 60 cm between the walls and the bags and between
bags of different types of cocoa.
– Disinfect by fumigation. Protection against rodents and other pests must be carried out
as and when due.
– Steps must be taken to avoid contamination by odour, off-flavours or dust.
– Periodic checking of the moisture content of each lots must be carried out.
 Bean quality

Good qualities:

• Fully ripe, correctly fermented

• Firm beans of uniform size
• Loose and undamaged shell
• Brown color
• Readily crumbled, fragile kernel
 Bean quality

Bad qualities:
 Unripe and poorly fermented beans
 Mouldy cocoa beans
 Purple color (underfermented)
 Black color (overfermented)
 Insect infested cocoa beans
 Germinated cocoa beans
 Smokey smell, obtained from smoke by fire drying
 International grade standards

Cocoa shall be graded on the basis of the count

of defective beans in the cut test:

GRADE I GRADE II
Mouldy beans Max 3 % Max 4 %

Slaty beans Max 8 % Max 8 %

Insect-damaged, Max 3 % Max 6 %

germinated or
flat beans
 SNI cocoa bean grades

Cocoa beans can be classified by:

• Fine cocoa (F = jenis mulia)
• Bulk cocoa (B = jenis lindak)

There are 3 types of quality:

1. Mutu I
2. Mutu II
3. Mutu III
 SNI cocoa bean grades

The 3 types of quality have sub-categories for bean

count (number of beans per 100 gram sample):

• AA: maximum of 85 beans per 100 gram

• A : 86-100 beans per 100 gram
• B : 101-110 beans per 100 gram
• C : 111-120 beans per 100 gram
• S : over 120 beans per 100 gram
 SNI cocoa bean grades

Quality requirements:

General conditions:
• Cocoa beans shall be free from live insects
• The moisture content shall not exceed 7.5 %
• The beans shall be free from smoky smell and other
objectionable odor
• The beans shall be free from foreign matter
 SNI cocoa bean grades

Special conditions:

Quality type Requirements

Fine Bulk Mouldy Slaty Insect waste Germin
cocoa cocoa beans beans damage ated
d beans beans
I–F I–B Max 2 % Max 3% Max 1% Max 1.5 Max 2%
II – F II – B Max 4 % Max 8% Max 2% Max 2% Max 3%
III – F III - B Max 4% Max20% Max 2% Max 3% Max 3%