From Bean to Egg!
Knowing the provenance of our chocolate is fundamental to Salcombe Dairy ethos and our team are on an epic trip to Peru to find out more about the organic, fairly-traded cocoa nibs we use.
Salcombe Dairy’s Chocolate Manager Ellie Weir and husband David are currently on an epic Landrover trek across the Americas, with one very important stop to make en route through Peru. They're visiting the Co-operative of farmers where Salcombe Dairy source the cocoa beans to make their organic chocolate.
In the foothills of the Andes, in the province of Mariscal Cáceres, our intrepid team made their way on roads which then became dirt tracks to reach the farms.
In this area, 97% of the economy comes from agriculture - the rainforest provides the perfect hot and wet growing conditions for native strains of cacao beans such as Criollo and Trinitario.
Small cacao seedlings begin life in the nursery, then are planted out under the protective shady leaves of banana plants to ensure they thrive, and within five years fruits in the form of pods (roughly the size of a coconut) start to form, filled with white fleshy pulp containing beans.
The pods are harvested, cut in half, then the white pulp is collected and put into large vats to be fermented for two or three days then dried in the sun for around five days. The beans are then roasted in an oven for up to an hour, and then winnowed to remove the outer husks, leaving the precious centre of the bean, the nib which is then ready for export.