Fine Cocoa Farming — bean-to-bar

  PRODUCT STORY - FROM CACAO TREE TO CACAO BEANS      1. Harvesting cacao pods Once cacao pods are ripped on the trunk and limbs of the trees -between 20 and 24 weeks after flowering- farmers proceed to manually collect them one by one using hand pruners. Since during the lifespan of a productive cacao tree -at least 30 years, although there are reports of 80 years old still in production-, flowers are located and produced at the same “floral cushions”, technically referred as “floral meristem”, farmers are very careful to avoid damaging those structures that represents the productivity...