Cacao Cultivation and Harvest in Mexico
Making chocolate starts with cacao pods, the fruit of the Theobroma cacao tree. Unlike most fruit trees Theobroma bear fruit directly from their trunk and thick lower branches. Each cacao pod contains an average of 40-50 seeds or cacao beans, used for making chocolate.
The cacao fruit is harvested from the tree and it is split open revealing the collection of cacao seeds, or beans inside. Covering the beans is a citrus / banana flavored pulp. While not part of the final chocolate it is vital in the process of transforming the flavor of cacao beans.
Once the cacao pods are harvested the small scale farmer has two options. First option is to empty the cacao beans into a central processing center, mixing their cacao with the cacao of their neighbors. Second they can process the cacao beans on site themselves. The second option allows the farmer to retain more value for their harvest and it requires an extra set of skills, typically these skills are shared through generations of farming. The benefit is a skill set perfected over thousands of years that adapts to changing local ecosystems and retains unique flavor based on skill.
Cacao seeds must be removed quickly once a cacao pod is harvested. In order to be able to enjoy the flavor we know as chocolate, these seeds are typically fermented. Techniques vary between countries and even between regions. In Mexico it is common to ferment cacao using boxes made from planks of wood, retaining space between the wooden planks allows drainage and helps regulate heat.
In order to develop the flavors we identify as on the spectrum of chocolate, cacao is commonly fermented. The first steps of fermentation look like this across the current cacao growing regions of the world- After the pods are emptied the process can take different forms depending on tradition and on geography. The cacao growers we work with in what is now Mexico prefer wooden boxes that are set up in an elevated series. This allows for the fermenter to move the actively fermenting cacao between the boxes and therefore control the rising temperatures. up to Seven days of movement and mixing also promotes the incorporation of wild yeasts present in the air and contributes to the final flavor of the cacao.
The last step of preparing the cacao after it is harvested is to dry out the fermented beans. There are two methods that farmers use to do this, one is machine drying and one is sun drying. The obvious preference for us is sun drying because of the lack of addtional electrical energy usage. Sun drying allow the farmers to add another layer of craftsmxnship to their cacao.
The fermented cacao is spread in an even flat surface and allowed to dry slowly under the sun. The beans are ‘raked’ and shifted until they are uniformly dried. The difficulty in this method is mitigating the weather, this is greatly helped by the construction of moving roof cover which can be used to protect the drying cacao in the case of unexpected rain.
Once the cacao is dried it is packaged into shipping vessels (in our case trucks or trains) and starts its journey across the border to us. This process is different for each shipment. We are not professional customs brokers, nor have we yet decided to hire one, all of our shipments are orchestrated by ourselves and the farmers and therefore saving valuable resources on both sides of the border.
A note about language; Many small scale cacao farmers identify themselves as "campesinos, campesinas or campesinxs" which translates to "peasant" in English, a word that deserves our examination.
"I hope the elegance of the vocabulary is is not lost on us: those who identify as PEASANTS, seek SOVEREIGNTY, not of monarchs, but of food. As a movement, we have much work to do on behalf of peasants around the world, first and foremost of which is to call them by the name which they have chosen with pride. We must respect the right of self-identification. If we don't use the term peasant because we feel it carries negative connotations, aren't we then just endorsing the very belief system that perpetuates the very injustice that we are fighting? Therefore, it's important to notice our own biases when we encounter this word: what does it connote to us, and where does that come from? And, most importantly, how might we center the voices of peasants themselves in this conversation about defining the term so that we adopt a meaning that captures the diversity and the importance of the term?"- A Growing culture
