The Chocolate Fudge Cafe

About the Cacao Tree

The cacao tree (Theobroma Cacao) is grown in the tropics in a band between 10 to 20 degrees north and south of the equator, sometimes called the “Cocoa Belt”. The tree is often grown in the shades of other trees. It can be as tall as 40 feet (12 meters), and has fruits (pods) which are more than on foot (30 cm)long. The fruits may be brownish-yellow to purple, and contain 20-40 seeds or cacao beans in a pink, sweet-sour pulp.

The cacao tree is cultivated in many countries, but today the leading suppliers are Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Brazil, Cameroon, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Papua New Guinea. Other well-known manufacturingcountries are Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, some Caribbean islands like Grenada and Cuba, and some Pacific islands like Samoa. For more information see the International Cocoa Organization.

Cacao fruits (Trinitario) in Grenada (the Caribbean).

Harvested fruits (Photo: iStockphoto.com).

Four major types of cacao are cultivated: Criollo, Forastero, Trinitario and Nacional. The Criollo tree originates in Mexico and Central America and gives very high quality cacao beans and is mainly cultivated in South and Central America. The yield is fairly low. A number of varieties of Criollo are cultivated; in Venezuela well-known varieties are “Chuao”, “Porcelana”, “Puerto Cabello” and “Carupano”. Criollo beans are often mixed with other varieties of cacao when making chocolate.

The Forastero is very much cultivated in Africa, but also in Central and South America and constitutes approximately 80% of world production of cacao. This tree grows faster and gives higher yield than other types of cacao. A number of varieties are cultivated, in Venezuela excellent varieties are “Carenero Superior”, “Caracas Natural” and “Rio Caribe”. The Forastero “Amenolado” variety produces delicate, aromatic beans and is cultivated primarily in Ecuador.

The Trinitario is a crossbreed between the Forastero and Criollo, and is mainly cultivated in Central and South America and Asia. It has its aroma from Criollo and its resistance to disease and its productivity from Forastero.

The Nacional is mostly cultivated in South America west of the Andes. It is prone to disease and difficult to grow, but has an excellent aroma.

The flavor of the cacao beans is not only dependent on the variety, but also on the soil, temperature, sunshine and rainfall. It is now possible tbuy chocolates made with cacao beans from one single region and thus compare the aromas; these chocolates are often called specialty chocolates, in contrast to ordinary chocolate which are made with mostly cheap cacao beans from several regions and with more than one cacao variety.

The Aztecs used the cocoa bean to produce a beverage called xocoatl. The cocoa bean was introduced to Spain in the 16th century. The first chocolate bar was made in Switzerland in 1819, and in 1875 the milk chocolate was invented.

More about the history of chocolate and cacao varieties on this blog in archives: http://www.chocolatefudgecafe.com/?cat=1

Major portions of this article have been reprinted courtesy of Cacao Web. Please visit their website for more information about all things chocolate: http://www.cacaoweb.net/

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     This site has a lot of great information about cacao; how it’s grown, etc., plus         many wonderful recipes like this one for Cocoa Balls.

See the full recipe at the cacaoweb site: http://www.cacaoweb.net/cocoa-balls.html

Cocoa Balls

In many cacao-producing countries the cacao beans are locally used for making “cocoa tea”. The fermented beans are ground to a fine paste, mixed with spices, and rolled into balls which are dried (in Jamaica and some other countries the ground cocoa is rolled into sticks or made into cubes  instead of balls). These balls (or cubes or sticks) are used for making “cocoa tea”, which in other countries is called a “hot cup of chocolate”.

The cocoa balls contain both the cocoa powder and the cocoa butter which is naturally present in the cacao beans (the  cacao beans contain approximately 50% cocoa butter) which means that the flavor of the final “tea” is very rich and similar to making hot  chocolate using a dark chocolate bar dissolved in hot milk/water mixture.

Fifteen days ago, Earth’s Sweet Pleasures, makers of the first organic, gluten-free fudge on the planet, launched their Kickstarter.com campaign to raise funds.  So far they have reached 7% of their $12,000 goal with 14 days left.  If you want to help keep organic fudge made with Rich Rainforest 70% dark chocolate from Equador on the market, and help support rainforest cacao farmers in the process, please “PLEDGE” to the Earth’s Sweet Pleasures Kickstarter campaign.

Earth’s Sweet Pleasures has unveiled their new  product photos for the Gourmet Fudge Bar, in stores nationwide and online: www.earthssweetpleasures.com.

These product photos were taken by professional photographer, Dianne Griffin of San Francisco.  Leave a comment if you would like her contact info.

Pieces from Gourmet Fudge Bar

Earth’s Sweet Pleasures Rich Rainforest Dark Gourmet Fudge Bar

Yummy pieces with walnuts and vanilla sticks

Gourmet Fudge Bar – 10 to a box.  Available at many stores and online. Visit www.earthssweetpleasures.com for ordering information.

The Four Main Types of Cacao

From the book “Discover Chocolate” by Clay Gordon

   Forastero 

Origin:   Amazon River Basin; introduced into Western Africa via the island of Sao Tome

Tree:      Comparatively high yielding and disease resistant

Pod:       Lower Amazon (Amelonado): yellow pods with smooth outer skin

              Upper Amazon (UPA): yellow pods with variable shapes

              Comparatively disease resistant

Bean:     Size: large

              Interior Color: violet

Flavor:   Robust; not considered to be fine flavor cacao

Criollo 

Origin:  Central America, Mexico

Tree:     Comparatively low yielding and not as resistant to disease

Pod:      Red, orange or yellow pods; rough outer skin with longitudinal furrows

Bean:    Size: small to medium

             Interior Color: pale to white (which gave rise to the name Porcelana)

Flavor:  Delicate and nuanced; considered to be the finest flavor cacao

  Trinitario 

Origin:   Island of Trinidad (a natural hybrid between Forastero and Criollo);

              Introduced into Western Africa via the island of Fernando Po (Malabo)

Tree:      Intermediate yield and disease resistance between Forastero and Criollo

Pod:       Various Colors, often purple

Bean:     Size: medium to large

              Interior Color: ranges from violet to pale depending on predominance of

              Forastero or Criollo strains

Flavor:   Nuanced to robust; considered to be fine flavor cacao

 Nacional 

Origin:   Equador, technically considered to be Forastero sub-type exhibiting many

              Criollo characteristics

Tree:      Similar to Trinitario

Pod:       Similar to Trinitario

Bean:     Size: medium to large

              Interior Color: ranges from violet to pale

Flavor:   Nuanced and robust; considered to be fine flavor cacao

Inside of dried Cacao Pod with pale interior color: