Cocoa Market Requirements
For the chocolate manufacturer the yield of the nib – the pieces of beans after roasting, cracking and de-shelling – is very important, as is the amount of cocoa butter it contains.
Tests are carried out by chocolate manufacturers and cocoa processors, particularly for beans from origins that commonly result in inconsistent quality, or those that are prone to off-flavors.
Higher levels of cocoa butter in the nib mean that lower levels will need to be added later on in the manufacturing process.
Flavor is also important for chocolate manufacturers. Flavor assessment is normally carried out by panels of tasters. Mouldy and smoky off flavors and excessive bitterness cannot be removed during processing. Acid tastes can be altered in processing through neutralization. Sub-standard beans can be pressed whole to produce expelled cocoa butter which is then refined.
Better quality beans are de-shelled before pressing to produce pure pressed cocoa butter and cocoa press cake (which ultimately becomes cocoa powder). Chocolate manufacturers also assess the quality of cocoa butter for its hardness, melting and solidification behavior. For many years the chocolate manufacturer’s associations have sought changes to the specifications for cocoa bean purchases. This includes a limit on free fatty acids of 1.25% of the fat content of the bean, a moisture content no higher than 7.7%, absence of off-flavors, bean size distribution and homogeneity of parcels. However, as many beans are dried and processed on farm by small-scale growers, quality controls are difficult to impose at the farm and internal supply chain level.
