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A sudden withdrawal by the buyers of cocoa from the procurement operations
due to crash in the international market came as a shock to cultivators. Karnataka and Kerala Governments enthused, at this stage, the CAMPCO to enter on the scene to rescue the farmers from distress. CAMPCO willingly took up the responsibility to enter the cocoa market and performed a savior's role.
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As a strategy for survival in the International scene the CAMPCO played a major role in establishing a name for Indian Cocoa, which hitherto had not been achieved. It procured cocoa pods from growers and adopting scientific processing methods to market standards, released dry cocoa beans matching in quality in the world market equal to that of Ghana,Brazil and other cocoa cultivation nations.
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After entering into the Cocoa market the Co-operative was able to export Cocoa Beans worth Rs. 40 million to European countries in the initial phase of operations. India was not known as a Cocoa producer in the international Trading Community, since yearly production was hardly 5 to 6 thousand tonnes which is not even 0.3% of the total world consumption.
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Through sustained efforts CAMPCO has been able to ensure reasonable prices to Cocoa growers. The Co-operative had to face the problem of a limited internal market and un-remunerative export market.
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With the setting up of the chocolate manufacturing factory at Puttur, 50KM from Mangalore, the Co-operative has been able to increase local consumption of cocoa based products and to export value added semi-finished products.
With a view to creating a permanent demand and a steady market for the
beans, CAMPCO established a Chocolate Manufacturing Factory at Kemminje village in Puttur Taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, adopting
foreign technical advancement in chocolate making. The Factory was set up in 1986 at an initial investment of Rs.116.7 Millions.
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Varieties Of Cocoa Beans
Origins Of Cocoa And Its Spread Around The World
The genus Theobroma originated millions of years ago in South America, to the east of the Andes. Theobroma has been divided into twenty-two species of which T. cacao is the most widely known. It is the Maya who have provided tangible evidence of cacao as a domesticated crop. Archaeological evidence in Costa Rica indicates that cacao was drunk by Maya traders as early as 400 BC. The Aztec culture, dominant in Mesoamerica from the fourteenth century to the Conquest, placed much emphasis on the sanctity of cacao.
The first outsider to drink chocolate was Christopher Columbus, who reached Nicaragua in 1502 searching for a sea route to the spices of the East. But it was Hernan Cortés, leader of an expedition in 1519 to the Aztec empire, who returned to Spain in 1528 bearing the Aztec recipe for xocoatl (chocolate drink) with him. The drink was initially received unenthusiastically and it was not until sugar was added that it became a popular drink in the Spanish courts.
Cocoa tree varieties
Criollos dominated the market until the middle of the eighteenth century but today only a few, if any, pure Criollo trees remain.
Forastero is a large group containing cultivated, semi-wild and wild populations of which the Amelonado populations are the most extensively planted. Large areas of Brazil and West Africa are planted with Amelonado.
Amelonado varieties include, Comum in Brazil, West African Amelonado in Africa, Cacao Nacional in Ecuador and Matina or Ceylan in Costa Rica and Mexico. Recently large plantations throughout the world used Upper Amazon hybrids.
The Trinitario populations are considered to belong to the Forasteros although they are descended from a cross between Criollo and Forastero. Trinitario planting started in Trinidad and spread to Venezuela and then was planted in Ecuador, Cameroon, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Java and Papua New Guinea.
Categories of Cocoa Beans
The world cocoa market distinguishes between two broad categories of cocoa beans: "fine or flavour" cocoa beans, and "bulk" or "ordinary" cocoa beans. As a generalisation, fine or flavour cocoa beans are produced from Criollo or Trinitario cocoa-tree varieties, while bulk cocoa beans come from Forastero trees. There are, however, known exceptions to this generalisation. Nacional trees in Ecuador, considered to be Forastero-type trees, produce fine or flavour cocoa. On the other hand, Cameroon cocoa beans, produced by Trinitario-type trees and whose cocoa powder has a distinct and sought-after red colour, are classified as bulk-cocoa beans.
The share of fine or flavour cocoa in the total world production of cocoa beans is just under 5% per annum. Virtually all major activity over the past five decades has involved bulk cocoa.
Harvesting & Post-harvest
Harvesting Cocoa
Forastero-type cocoa beans are used for making CAMPCO CHOCOLATE and Harvesting of Cocoa involves removing ripe pods from the trees and opening them to extract the wet beans. The pods are harvested manually by making a clean cut through the stalk with a well sharpened blade.
The pods are opened to remove the beans within a week to 10 days after harvesting. In general the harvested pods are grouped together and split either in or at the edge of the plantation. Sometimes the pods are transported to a fermentary before splitting. After extraction from the pod the beans undergo fermentation and drying process before being bagged for delivery.
Fermentation
Fermentation can be carried out in a variety of ways, but all methods depend on removing the beans from the pods and piling them together or in a box to allow micro-organisms to develop and initiate the fermentation of the pulp surrounding the beans. The piles are covered by banana leaves.
The fermentation process decides the quality of raw cocoa.
The fermentation process begins with the growth of micro-organisms. The chemical reactions that take place during fermentation cause the chocolate flavour and colour to develop. The length of fermentation varies depending on the bean type and origin. Forastero beans require about 5 days and Criollo beans 2-3 days.
Drying
Cocoa beans are dried after fermentation in order to reduce the moisture content from about 60% to about 7.5%. Drying must be carried out carefully to ensure that off-flavors are not developed. Drying should take place slowly. If the beans are dried too quickly some of the chemical reactions started in the fermentation process are not allowed to complete their work and the beans are acidic with a bitter flavour. However, if the drying is too slow moulds and off flavors can develop. Various research studies indicate that bean temperatures during drying should not exceed 650C.
There are two methods for drying beans - sun drying and artificial drying.
Processing Cocoa
Transforming Cocoa beans into Chocolate
Stage 1. The cocoa beans are cleaned to remove all extraneous material.
Stage 2. To bring out the chocolate flavour and colour the beans are roasted. The temperature, time and degree of moisture involved in roasting depend on the type of beans used and the sort of chocolate or product required from the process.
Stage 3. A winnowing machine is used to remove the shells from the beans to leave just the cocoa nibs.
Stage 4. The cocoa nibs undergo alkalization, usually with potassium carbonate, to develop the flavour and colour.
Stage 5. The nibs are then milled to create cocoa liquor (cocoa particles suspended in cocoa butter). The temperature and degree of milling varies according to the type of nib used and the product required.
Stage 6. Manufacturers generally use more than one type of bean in their products and therefore the different beans have to be blended together to the required formula.
Stage 7. The cocoa liquor is pressed to extract the cocoa butter leaving a solid mass called cocoa press cake. The amount of butter extracted from the liquor is controlled by the manufacturer to produce press cake with different proportions of fat.
Stage 8. The processing now takes two different directions. The cocoa butter is used in the manufacture of chocolate. The cocoa press cake is broken into small pieces to form kibbled press cake which is then pulverized to form cocoa powder.
Stage 9. Cocoa liquor is used to produce chocolate through the addition of cocoa butter. Other ingredients such as sugar, milk, emulsifying agents and cocoa butter equivalents are also added and mixed. The proportions of the different ingredients depend on the type of chocolate being made.
Stage10. The mixture then undergoes a refining process by traveling through a series of rollers until a smooth paste is formed. Refining improves the texture of the chocolate and reduces the particle size of sugar and cocoa to around 30 microns.
Stage 11. The next process, conching, further develops flavour and texture. Conching is a kneading or smoothing process. The speed, duration and temperature of the kneading affect the flavour.
Stage 12. The mixture is then tempered or passed through a heating, cooling and reheating process. This prevents discoloration and fat bloom in the product by preventing certain crystalline formations of cocoa butter developing.
Stage 13. The mixture is then put into moulds or used for enrobing fillings and cooled in a cooling chamber.
Stage 14. The chocolate is then packaged for distribution to retail outlets.