1. The receipt of fresh beans

2. Weighing of fresh beans

The pulp is still present because it contains the sugar necessary for the fermentation process. As a result, fresh beans weigh on average three times more than dried beans. The farmers therefore receive the price per kilo divided by three.


3. Fermentation
The fresh beans begin their fermentation process in the wooden boxes ‘A’. They are covered with jute bags and banana leaves so that the initial aroma develops as a result of natural chemical reactions.
The smell of alcohol is very strong at this point.
Duration : 2 days


After two days, the beans are mixed by moving them from tanks A to B. The cocoa beans then have contact with oxygen. The contact between air and alcohol turns into acetic alcohol. The fermentation cycle becomes aerobic.
A change in the external colour of the beans, from white to brown, can be observed.
Duration : 2 days
In the C tanks, the temperature increases and can reach up to 55°C. The internal colour of the beans then changes from purple to brown and a “Cut Test” is performed to make sure of this.
The darker the brown colour, the more fermented the beans. On the basis of a hundred beans, if more than 10% are still purple, they are brewed for the third time and one or two days of fermentation are added to the process.
Duration : 2 days

4. Sun-drying


They again undergo quality control . The small residual skins are removed to prevent the fermentation process from continuing.
Duration : max. 11 days in the rainy period
5. Transport

