Cocoa Api

[Manric Hock]

Webring people in the cocoa industry together. We convene, co-create, and collaborate to improve farmer income, end deforestation and combat child labour. Together, we build impactful solutions for a more sustainable cocoa industry.

We drive cocoa industry sustainability by convening stakeholders, co-creating and leading sector-wide initiatives and collaborative programmes that are linked to private and public investments. We create tools and methods for impact measurement that are aligned across the sector. Our collaborative approach shows how partnerships can drive change, create ownership and ensure transparency.

Tracing the origin and production of cocoa is crucial to meet the expectations of both global consumers and regulators ensuring responsible and sustainable cocoa sourcing. As part of this critical impact initiative, we are enabling companies to comply with new regulations like the EUDR.

Our annual partnership meeting brings together key stakeholders in the global cocoa and chocolate sector. It is a critical forum for robust discussions and collaborative efforts focused on sustainability. This unique gathering aligns the industry towards impactful global actions and solutions.

The World Cocoa Foundation is an international membership organisation representing the global cocoa and chocolate sectors. Its members include farmer cooperatives, cocoa processors, chocolate manufacturers, and supply chain companies worldwide.

The cacao tree was first domesticated at least 5,300 years ago by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in South America, before it was introduced in Mesoamerica.[2] Cacao was consumed by pre-Hispanic cultures in spiritual ceremonies and its beans were a common currency in Mesoamerica. The cacao tree grows in a limited geographical zone; today, West Africa produces nearly 81% of the world's crop. The three main varieties of cocoa plant are Forastero, Criollo, and Trinitario; Forastero is the most widely used.

In 2020, global cocoa bean production reached 5.8 million tonnes, with Ivory Coast leading at 38% of the total, followed by Ghana and Indonesia. Cocoa beans, cocoa butter, and cocoa powder are traded on futures markets, with London focusing on West African cocoa and New York on Southeast Asian cocoa. Various international and national initiatives aim to support sustainable cocoa production, including the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa (SWISSCO), the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (GISCO), and Belgium's Beyond Chocolate. At least 29% of global cocoa production was compliant with voluntary sustainability standards in 2016. Deforestation due to cocoa production remains a concern, especially in West Africa. Sustainable agricultural practices, such as agroforestry, can support cocoa production while conserving biodiversity. Cocoa contributes significantly to economies such as Nigeria's, and demand for cocoa products continues to grow steadily at over 3% annually since 2008.

To produce 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of chocolate, around 300 to 600 cocoa beans are processed. The beans are roasted, cracked, and deshelled, resulting in pieces called nibs, which are ground into a thick paste known as chocolate liquor or cocoa paste. The liquor is processed into chocolate by adding cocoa butter, sugar, and sometimes vanilla and lecithin. Alternatively, cocoa powder and cocoa butter can be separated using a hydraulic press or the Broma process. Treating cocoa with an alkali produces Dutch process cocoa, which has a different flavor profile than untreated cocoa. Roasting can also be done on the whole bean or nib, affecting the final flavor. Cocoa contains phytochemicals like flavanols, procyanidins, and other flavonoids, and flavanol-rich chocolate and cocoa products may have a small blood pressure lowering effect. The beans also contain theobromine and a small amount of caffeine. The tree takes five years to grow and has a typical lifespan of 100 years.

(The reason for the inversion of the letters "o" and "a" in the borrowing from the Spanish "cacao" to the English "cocoa" is unknown, but etymological dictionaries speculate that it originated with a simple isolated arbitrary spelling confusion during the borrowing, possibly due to influence from the unrelated Spanish word "coco", but does not appear to represent any larger linguistic pattern or have any evident explanation beyond that, neither semantic nor euphonic.[6])

The cacao tree is native to the Amazon rainforest. It was first domesticated at least 5,300 years ago, in equatorial South America from the Santa Ana-La Florida (SALF) site in what is present-day southeast Ecuador (Zamora-Chinchipe Province) by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture, before being introduced in Mesoamerica.[2][10]

More than 4,000 years ago, it was consumed by pre-Hispanic cultures along the Yucatn, including the Maya, and as far back as Olmeca civilization in spiritual ceremonies. It also grows in the foothills of the Andes in the Amazon and Orinoco basins of South America, in Colombia and Venezuela. Wild cacao still grows there. Its range may have been larger in the past; evidence of its wild range may be obscured by cultivation of the tree in these areas since long before the Spanish arrived.[citation needed]

Cacao trees grow in a limited geographical zone, of about 20 to the north and south of the Equator. Nearly 70% of the world crop today is grown in West Africa. The cacao plant was first given its botanical name by Swedish natural scientist Carl Linnaeus in his original classification of the plant kingdom, where he called it Theobroma ("food of the gods") cacao.

Cocoa was an important commodity in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.[14] A Spanish soldier who was on Hernan Corts' side during the conquest of the Aztec Empire tells that when Moctezuma II, emperor of the Aztecs, dined, he took no other beverage than chocolate, served in a golden goblet. Flavored with vanilla or other spices, his chocolate was whipped into a froth that dissolved in the mouth. No fewer than 60 portions each day reportedly may have been consumed by Moctezuma II, and 2,000 more by the nobles of his court.[15]

Chocolate was introduced to Europe by the Spaniards, and became a popular beverage by the mid-17th century.[16] Spaniards also introduced the cacao tree into the West Indies and the Philippines.[17] It was also introduced into the rest of Asia, South Asia and into West Africa by Europeans. In the Gold Coast, modern Ghana, cacao was introduced by a Ghanaian, Tetteh Quarshie.

Representing only 5% of all cocoa beans grown as of 2008[update],[20] Criollo is the rarest and most expensive cocoa on the market, and is native to Central America, the Caribbean islands and the northern tier of South American states.[21] The genetic purity of cocoas sold today as Criollo is disputed, as most populations have been exposed to the genetic influence of other varieties.

Criollo is particularly difficult to grow, as they are vulnerable to a variety of environmental threats and produce low yields of cocoa per tree. The flavor of Criollo is described as delicate yet complex, low in classic chocolate flavor, but rich in "secondary" notes of long duration.[22]

The most commonly grown bean is Forastero,[20] a large group of wild and cultivated cocoas, most likely native to the Amazon Basin. The African cocoa crop is entirely made up of Forastero. They are significantly hardier and of higher yield than Criollo. The source of most chocolate marketed,[20] Forastero cocoas are typically strong in classic "chocolate" flavor, but have a short duration and are unsupported by secondary flavors, producing "quite bland" chocolate.[20] Forastero is particularly tannic and is therefore more astringent and bitter than the other varieties of cocoa.[23]

The Nacional is a rare variety of cocoa bean found in areas of South America such as Ecuador and Peru.[24][25] Some experts in the 21st century had formerly considered the Nacional bean to be extinct after an abrupt end in 1916, when an outbreak of witch's broom disease devastated the Nacional variety throughout these countries.[25] Pure genotypes of the bean are rare because most Nacional varieties have been interbred with other cocoa bean varieties.[26] Ecuadorian Nacional traces its genetic lineage as far back as 5,300 years, to the earliest-known cacao trees domesticated by humanity. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Nacional was considered by many European chocolatiers to be the most coveted source of cacao in the world due to its floral aroma and complex flavor profile.

Trinitario is a natural hybrid of Criollo and Forastero. Trinitario originated in Trinidad after an introduction of Forastero to the local Criollo crop. Nearly all cocoa produced over the past five decades is of the Forastero or lower-grade Trinitario varieties.[27]

Theobroma cacao 'Kurdicus'human-made hybridIt is Turkey's first local cocoa type, produced by the tropical plant collector Sadık Ay in Turkey, a country where cocoa cultivation is not carried out, as a result of the three-parent hybridization of PA7xNA37 cocoa hybrids with another Cultivar hybrid.Studies continue on this new hybrid species, which shows rapid development and has the ability to be immune to diseases.The species carries Forastero and Trinitario genetics, but also has 30% Criollo character.

During harvest, the pods are opened, the seeds are kept, and the empty pods are discarded and the pulp made into juice. The seeds are placed where they can ferment. Due to heat buildup in the fermentation process, cacao beans lose most of the purplish hue and become mostly brown in color, with an adhered skin which includes the dried remains of the fruity pulp. This skin is released easily by winnowing after roasting. White seeds are found in some rare varieties, usually mixed with purples, and are considered of higher value.[28][29]

Cacao trees grow in hot, rainy tropical areas within 20 of latitude from the Equator. Cocoa harvest is not restricted to one period per year and a harvest typically occurs over several months. In fact, in many countries, cocoa can be harvested at any time of the year.[13] Pesticides are often applied to the trees to combat capsid bugs, and fungicides to fight black pod disease.[30]

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