The beans are now ready for fermentation or what is called “en baba” in Central and South America.
Fermentation is a natural postharvest process that converts the sugars in raw cacao beans to alcohol, kills the germ, and develops the necessary elements that modify the composition of the beans so they will yield the characteristic flavor and aroma of chocolate during roasting. It is during fermentation that fine flavor cacao beans like Trinitario and Criollo start developing their flavors (bulk or ordinary cacao develop most of their flavor during roasting)—without it there will be little chocolate flavor. Depending on the country, fermentation takes place on the ground, in baskets, wooden boxes, or cylinders stored away from light. Depending on the varietal, the fermentation process lasts from two to eight days. The beans must be turned regularly to ensure even fermentation.
During fermentation, the beginnings of the taste we associate with chocolate forms. While polyphenols go down during fermentation, your standard dark chocolate bar still has far more antioxidants than a glass of red wine.
Why ferment, and why ferment immediately after harvest? Because cacao is a fresh food, it can be host to a cadre of bacteria, fungi, and yeasts indigenous to the tropics once the pod is opened. Fermentation can’t be done elsewhere lest the beans fall victim to the bacteria and their band of brothers. Kill them with the heat of fermentation or we risk our health, and some argue endanger our lives as much as flavor—a literal, and hence far more unpleasant, death by chocolate.
After the fermentation process, cocoa beans, as they are now called, have high moisture content. In order to be shipped or stored, they must be dried. This drying process differs depending on the climate or size of the farm, cooperative, or plantation. Cocoa beans can be dried out in the sun on trays, roads, concrete slabs or mats in the drier environments. In tropical areas where daily rainfall is the norm, beans can be dried in covered sheds and/or on tables over hot air. In either method, it is important that there is air circulating around the beans.
Once the moisture percentage in the cocoa beans has reached 6 to 7 percent, they are sorted and bagged. When it comes to fine flavor cocoa beans, the sorting process is very important because the cocoa beans are classified and sold in the industry by their size. After being sampled and approved by the bean buyer or broker, the bagged cocoa beans are then loaded on ships to be delivered to chocolate manufacturers.