COCOA FLOWER They resemble little orchids however, they clearly differ from the orchids as number five is repeatedly found in their floral structure: five sepals, five white or pink petals, five sterile stamens and five fertile ones and the ovary with its five fruit divisions located on top and covered by stigmas. Their small and pink flowers grow forming thick inflorescences straight out of the trunk and main branches, over little pads. After pollination, the flowers develop pods over a period of about five months. COCOA PODS The pods are capsules which vary in sizes and colours according to species. Ripe pods are melon shaped, long and spherical and their colour ranges from golden yellow to purple. They are 10-25 cm long and weighing about 200gr-500gr each. This fruit is called pine cones in Africa and maracas in America. Each pod contains cocoa seeds stuck to a white and fibrous string and covered by a bittersweet, white and creamy pulp. SPLITTING OPEN A COCOA POD The pods are split open by hand at the same plantations. Workers cut the high pods from the trees with knives and remove the seeds or beans and the wet pulp. FERMENTATION During this process, seeds characteristics are biomechanically modified. The white pulp darkens in colour while the aromatic principles are developed. Their bitter taste softens. Fermentation takes place among banana leaves - is a widespread method. Banana trees are grown to shade with its big leaves. Sunlight is perfect to dry beans as they keep all their purity. Manual work is the most appropriate to dry them. In order to have the heat evenly spread, beans are stirred and selected at steady intervals. BEAN COLLECTION AND TRANSPORTATION The cured beans, once being selected, are packet into sacks for better storage. Once the weight is checked (50 kg each), sacks are piled for transportation to chocolate factories all over the world.