Cocoa Beans

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The island of Madagascar, off the south-east coast of Africa is a highly interesting origin. Most of the cocoa is grown in the Ambanja or Sambirano region (6000 hectares) in the North of the country from where Criollo and Trinitario cocoa finds its way into some remarkable chocolate. Chocolate from here tends to carry strong citrus fruit notes, and has a slightly oily -- but by no means unpleasant -- texture. The Madagascan Criollo bars also provide particularly good examples of the distinct Criollo cocoa flavour, much more so than the better-known Venezuelan Criollos.

Forastero:

Green pods, yellow when mature, ovale-shaped, no deep rows, dense and hard shell, flat purple almonds. This variety is about 50% of the production Forastero trees are hearty, disease resistant and very prolific, and so unlike the delicate, less economical and now rare Criollos, Forasteros have flourished

Criollo:

Green or red pods before mature, verrucous, elongate shape with deep rows, thin and soft shell, white almonds
This variety is about 15 to 20% of the production
Criollo types all share characteristics such as the pale white cotyledons, the round bean shape and the complex yet mellow flavor. Unfortunately, Criollo trees produce few pods

Trinitario:

Trinitario is really just a natural cross between the Criollo and Forastero varietals and was created essentially by accident.
This variety is about 30-35% of the production

Two grades of cocoa beans are found locally:

1. Superior grade (or premium) : the cocoa beans purchased from farmers are fermented during 6 days minimum in wooden boxes by “preparateurs”.with controlled process. Then the cocoa beans are sun-dried for at least 4 days.
• Moisture : : 6-7 %
• Violet beans : max 5 %
• Slaty : max 3%
• Mold : max 3%
• Bean count : 90 – 100 per 100 grams
• Broken and flat beans : max 3%
2. Standard grade : this quality is obtained on the local market through “collecteurs” who buy from farmers who fernet themselves their crop. The fermentation stage is uneven as the process is not fully controlled (less than 1 day fermentation, drying 2 to 3 days…)

Sambirano aromatic processes its own beans and is in partnership with “preparateurs” which makes the quality of the beans reliable, as compared to standard quality found on the market.

Single source origin cocoa beans