Quality of Cocoa Beans in Small Scale Processing as Influenced by Methods of Drying and Season

摘要

The experiment was conducted to analyze the feasibility of resorting to artificial drying in small scale processing of cocoa to reduce the drying period or for drying during adverse climatic conditions. Sun drying and artificial drying with the help of a cabinet drier were tried for two seasons. In cabinet drying the moisture removal was fast compared to sun drying method. The initial moisture of 57.74% of fermented beans was reduced to around 6% by 4 days in cabinet method and 9 days in sun drying. With regard to pH of the beans during drying, there was a gradual increase in both the methods though, there was no significant difference between the methods. Analysis of biochemical parameters (polyphenol, amino acid and anthocyanin content) revealed that sun drying was better with respect to quality of cured beans. During the April--May season a superior cut test score of 55.53 was observed in sun dried samples as compared to 36.75 for cabinet dried samples. Recovery percent was also higher in sun dried samples i.e. 39.09 and 38.11% respectively during April--May and October--November whereas it was 32.09 and 33.13% respectively for cabinet dried samples. Improved quality in sun drying could be due to the better removal of acids and improvement of flavor though better amino acid formation. Thus, though drying was faster in artificial method in both the seasons, considering the quality of beans, slow sun drying is preferred. Artificial drying can be resorted to during adverse climatic conditions as in the second season to save the beans from spoilage.