Structure of the cocoa bean simply explained

Facts about the cocoa bean

• The fruits of the cocoa tree, which is found mainly in South America and Africa, are commonly referred to as cocoa beans.
• There are also different types of cocoa beans, which is why a uniform description of the structure is difficult.
• The unripe fruits are green in color and turn yellow, red-yellow or red-brown as they ripen.
• The fruits grow directly on the trunk of the cocoa tree, which belongs to the mallow family.
• What we call a cocoa bean is actually inside the hard shell of the fruit of the cocoa tree.


Production of cocoa - interesting facts about origin and processing

The cocoa tree is grown in the tropics of Asia, Africa, Central and South America. …

• Today cocoa is used in different ways: as a drink, processed in chocolate, as a powder for baking and also in cosmetic articles.
instagram viewer
• About 30-50 fruits can be harvested from a cocoa tree per year.
• The cultivation takes place largely on plantations where the trees are trimmed to a height of 4 m (a wild cocoa tree can reach up to 15 m).

Structure of the cocoa bean

1. The shape of the cocoa pod is more elongated than round and it reaches a proud length of up to 25 cm.
2. The structure of the fruit is comparable to that of other tropical fruits. The cocoa beans are surrounded by a very hard, leathery shell.
3. Inside this bowl, the cocoa beans are arranged in five rows, and there these Beans are rather small, a fruit contains up to 50 pieces in total.
4. A small cocoa bean measures no more than 2 cm in length and 1 cm in width and is surrounded by a sweet, white pulp.
5. The pulp has a viscous consistency and, despite its sweet taste, hardly plays a role in the western world.
6. Only the seeds of the fruit, the famous cocoa beans, are used, from which cocoa butter, cocoa powder and cocoa mass are made.