Forum Activity for @EricG

Cacao Research - An Annotated Bibliography of Scholarly Articles about Cacao

Posted in: Opinion

Hi Michael,

My hope was that these might be helpful for others so I am glad you found it useful. 

cheers,

Eric

Cacao Research - An Annotated Bibliography of Scholarly Articles about Cacao

Posted in: Opinion

This is an annotated bibliography about cacao articles that I wrote for a class I took last year.  These are summaries of 20 articles about cacao cultivation that I researched.  They may be of interest to many chocophiles and hopefully help with the research that others are doing.  The file is attached as a PDF.

Cheers,

Eric

updated by @Eric G: 02/29/16 11:50:08AM

notes on flavor

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hi Samantha,Thanks for your reply, I found your posts to be quite clear and very informative. i wasn't challenging your opinion i just found two contradictory posts and was trying to find more info. The cacao is being sundried in a marquesina. So I am going to try conching for longer to try and lessen the acidity. Also, this growers association sent a sample to a Swiss lab and the results were high bitterness, highly sour and moderatly astringent. I am continuing to play with fermentacion lengths and methods. Thanks again for your posts and comments.Cheers,Eric

notes on flavor

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I am working in Vinces, Ecuador and am having problems with high acidity in the licor samples I am making. While searching for info i have found in Samanthas post that:Acetic acid is produced by bacteria belonging to the Acetobacteraceae family. These bacteria dominate the second (aerobic) phase of fermentation. Acetic acid production peaks about 72 hours after fermentation begins [5], and it has been noted that diffusion of acetic acid through the whole bean is slow [6].However, it's quite common for Criollo cocoa beans to be fermented for less than 72 hours - sometimes for only 48 hours. Hence, a short fermentation time typically produces less acidic beans than a longer fermentation. (A short fermentation also has major implications relating to taste and flavour development, as mentioned under the "mild flavour" heading above).However Ive also found in Brady's attachment that:Acidity (overly) Short fermentation Cocoa grown from highly acidic soils.So, one post says short fermentation period=overly acidicwhile the other says a short fermentation time typically produces less acidic beans than a longer fermentation.If anyone can help clarify, or suggest other possible causes of, and solutions to highly acidic licor I'd greatly appreciate it.Cheers,Eric