Effect of the type of fermenter on the cocoa fermentation process and quality of the cacao beans

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of the type of fermenter on the fermentation process and quality of the cocoa beans. For this purpose, two prototype fermenters were used, a wooden rotary fermenter and a stainless steel rotary fermenter, and were compared with a traditional wooden box fermenter. The product was fermented for 7 days, the temperature of the fermenting mass, pH, titratable acidity, moisture, fermentation index of the cotyledons, soluble solids of the mucilage and sensory attributes by means of focus groups on cocoa liquors; were monitored for each fermenter. The results obtained showed significant differences (p<0.05) in the average daily temperature in the box fermenter compared to the averages of the rotary wood and stainless steel fermenters. As for pH, titratable acidity, moisture, soluble solids and fermentation index, no significant differences were found by type of fermenter. The sensory assessment determined that the cocoa liquor from the box fermenter had more pleasant sensory qualities than the other two. In conclusion, this work suggests that the material, shape, type of agitation and size of the fermenter have an effect on the temperature, which means that the type of fermenter conditions the temperature reached by the fermenting mass.