"Cocoa" in Forum Topics

Uses for cocoa leaves and bloom.

10/29/10 20:23:48, by Ning-Geng Ong

I've been told that young leaves make for excellent salad but I also recall reading that cocoa leaves have a level of toxicity, so I'm not sure if they are safe for consumption. Please share your knowledge on this issue.I'm also curious if there are any culinary uses for the cocoa flowers, on their own I would assume that it is not recognizable to most people, and they're not very big to begin with.

Jamaican Cocoa Farm

01/24/15 19:38:20, by Jean Campbell

If you are ever in Jamaica and would like to visit a cocoa farm, please come to Restoration Village Farm where we offer tours of the farm and a taste of authentic Jamaica.  My husband and I have owned the farm for 3 1/2 years and grow cocoa among other tropical fruits and vegetables.  We currently sell our raw cocoa beans to the Jamaica Cocoa Farmers Association who ferment, dry and export the beans abroad.  However, we envision making chocolate from tree to bar on the farm one day -- God...

Cocoa Butter Problem

06/20/10 22:16:40, by Lindsay Truffler

Hi - first post here but I desperately need some help. We're having a problem with our cocao butter sticking in our molds and cannot figure it out.The chocolate is in perfect temper prior to filling the molds.We had an issue with the A/C in our store and it *seems* like this is when the problem started - so we tempered (or retempered) the cocoa butter. Black and white seemed to actually work - made chocolate with them and they came out fine - today, no such luck with any of the other colors....

Cocoa butter infusion

01/25/16 21:12:38, by IH

Hi, I am looking for some advice on how to infuse cocoa butter with lavender. I currently have tried a Bain-Marie, with cocoa butter and lavender flowers. It reached and stayed at 180degrees for 20 mins. I strained the lavender out and let it cool and it still has a very cocoa butter taste and A very very slight lavender taste. Is there a better way to do this? Also will the taste be blown away if I place it into the melanger at the beginning with the nibs and sugar? Should I wait til the...

SALUDOS FROM COCOA PROVISIONS

11/25/14 21:48:47, by Jenny Samaniego

Hola Chocolate Lifers!My name is Jenny Samaniego, founder and owner of Cocoa Provisions. I grew up in Ecuador and I moved few years ago to NY. My love from the chocolate industry took shape in the Unites States while working for chocolate companies, Pacari Chocolates and Vintage Plantations Chocolates, and traveling back to Ecuador to meet the farmers.The special connection I had with the industry, grew to become my life goal, after witnessing the need and struggle of the small farmers to...

Organic Cocoa Beans

01/24/10 19:45:27, by helmut placek

Recently I talked to a chocolate producer and was told that organically grown cocoa beans are being fumigated prior to entering the United States, using the same kind of gas as the one for fumigating homes.How in the world can you still call these beans "organic" after being treated with poisonous gas?I appreciate youropinion in this matter.Helmut Placek

Deconstructing Cocoa Content

12/23/08 14:28:11, by Clay Gordon

The term "cocoa content" refers to the combined total percentage, by weight, of all the ingredients in a particular chocolate that come from the cocoa bean. In most cases it is the combination of the quantity of cocoa mass (or cocoa liquor or chocolate liquor, etc.) plus any added cocoa butter.Cocoa beans naturally vary between 45-55% cocoa butter content depending on the type of bean and where the bean is grown.Technically, cocoa butter is referred to as cocoa solids and cocoa powder is...

Mexican cocoa beans for sale

09/13/16 12:37:46, by Francis Murchison

We are downsizing in preparation to move onto our own cacao farm in Puerto Rico. This cacao was sourced directly from the indigenous farmers of San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec Oaxaca. Bitter and intense beans lend themselves to an amazing flavor profile, especially in dark milk chocolate. Roughly 150lbs available for $800 plus shipping. The beans are currently in San Diego

Anyone Have a Mirror Glaze WITHOUT Cocoa Powder???

10/07/15 20:26:47, by Brad Churchill

Hi. I have a condensed time frame to make some desserts and am trying to find a mirror glaze that doesn't use cocoa powder - just couverture.   Can anyone help?   Cheers Brad

Adventures with Colored Cocoa Butter

07/26/11 19:43:34, by Robby Booth

I'm having a bit of an issue with colored cocoa butter.I'm splattering it on a chocolate bar mold, letting it set (about 20 minutes), then filling the mold with tempered dark chocolate.The room is about 72 degrees, humidity is 35%, and I have a fan blowing in the room.When the bar releases from the mold, some of the cocoa butter stays stuck to the mold. (See attached photo).I also did a control test with a mold that did not have cocoa butter and the chocolate bar released perfectly and had a...

Where Fine Flavor Cocoa Grows

11/21/15 12:51:51, by Clay Gordon

Originally published on LinkedIn Pulse ICCO’s Ad Hoc Panel on Fine or Flavour Cocoa met in London last week to update the list of countries where they consider fine or flavor cocoa grows – and the percentage of the crop that is considered fine or flavor. From the ICCO web site: "The share of fine or flavor cocoa in the production of cocoa beans of individual countries has developed over time. Successive International Cocoa Agreements recognized producing countries exporting either...

world map of cocoa producing countries

07/23/11 02:45:45, by Melanie Boudar

Anyone know where I can buy a good map of cocoa producing countries around the world?