Scientific research

Among the methods of cocoa bean fermentation, heap method is the most common in small farms in Ghana and other West African countries. However, processing by this method requires a certain maiximum quantity of wet bean in order to generate heat in the mass sufficiently and thereby to ensure adequate fermentation. The size of heap often has a bearing on acidity of the processed beans, too large quanities often leading to higher acidity. The present experiment was taken up at the Cocoa Research Institute, Tafo, Ghana, to study the effect of heap sizes on temperature, pH and quality of beans.