Under Decree No. 2005/1212/PM, cocoa in Cameroon may only be sold once it has been fermented and dried. Good post-harvest practice also decides the grade, and therefore the price, of your beans. These are widely recommended practices; your extension officer or cooperative can advise on details for your farm.
1. Harvest ripe pods only
Pick pods when they are fully ripe. Unripe pods give poorly fermented, slaty beans; over-ripe pods may contain germinating beans. Open pods within a few days and avoid cutting the beans with the cutlass.
2. Ferment properly
Ferment the wet beans in heaps covered with banana leaves, or in boxes, typically for around five to seven days. Turn the mass every two days so it ferments evenly. Fermentation develops the flavour that buyers and chocolate makers look for.
3. Dry slowly and evenly
- Dry on raised racks, mats or clean tarpaulins, never directly on the ground or on tarred roads.
- Stir the beans several times a day and cover them at night and when it rains.
- Never dry over open smoke. Smoky beans are a serious defect and may be rejected.
- Beans are dry when they crack cleanly when squeezed and rattle in the hand.
4. Sort and store
Remove flat, broken and germinated beans, placenta and foreign matter. Store dried beans in clean jute bags on pallets, away from walls, fuel, fertiliser and chemicals.
Bring your beans to one of our branches and we will show you how your lot is assessed. Read more about how we grade cocoa.