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Post by maria on Apr 5, 2018 8:42:52 GMT -5
Dear chocofriends, I am relatively new to this chocoworld and I would appreciate your help. I ordered about 120 kg of beans from Bohnkaf Kolonial (Germany) and before I roast and winnow them, I sort them out which is a very time-consuming process. 1. Do you usually sort the beans (is it "normal")? 2. Do I sort them OK? (according to pictures attached. 1st: good ones, 2nd: bad ones) I am not sure in cases like: one side black, one side brown / beans covered in mould / beans with a little hole / black beans. If I sort Ok, then I have to waste about half of my beans, which is pity. Thank you again very much for your help. Maria Attachments:
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Post by Ben on Apr 5, 2018 9:40:05 GMT -5
Hi Maria. There are lots of opinions on whether or not to sort cacao and if so, what exactly should be sorted. For me, I do sort my cacao before roasting. I sort out broken or cut beans, flats, bean clusters, and non-bean material like sticks and rocks. Others sort more aggressively than I do, and others less so or even not at all. It should be noted that the external shell color can only tell you so much about the beans. What is far more important is what's inside. Have you done a cut test to see whether the black or two-tone beans, etc. are in fact bad? It may be that they are and need to be discarded, but it may be that they're ok. My guess is that there's an issue with the black ones at least, but I can't be sure without doing a cut test. Ideally, you would do a cut test on a representative sample before ordering the beans to determine the overall quality, consistency, and waste percentage. If you are having to sort out 50% of your cacao, I'd contact your supplier. That's really an unacceptable level of waste. From your photo of bad cacao, the only ones I think should definitely be sorted out--without having done a cut test and evaluation of the various beans--are circled in the photo below. I hope this helps! -Ben
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Post by maria on Apr 5, 2018 9:57:29 GMT -5
Hi Ben, I can't even express how thankful I am. Thank you very much!! And your drawings...thank you!!!
Yes, my sorting was based only on my assumptions - what looks ok and what not, but it looks like I waste more than it's really needed. So black are fine unless they are moulded inside, right? In other words, when you do the cut test, what are the signs based on whose you waste the bean?
Thank you again for taking your time and sharing your knowledge.
Maria
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Post by Ben on Apr 5, 2018 10:15:46 GMT -5
You're welcome! When you do a cut test, you're looking for the quality of the fermentation as well as looking for flaws, including (but not limited to) mold. It could be that the black beans are ok, but it could also be that they have interior mold, or are slaty, overfermented, etc. Here's a couple links that discuss doing a cut test that have photos showing what well-fermented cacao should look like as well as photos of most of the flaws you're likely to encounter: onthecocoatrail.com/2012/06/27/the-golden-cut/www.cocoasafe.org/Articles.asp?ArticleID=2
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Post by maria on Apr 5, 2018 10:50:21 GMT -5
You are simply great Ben. Thank you. I will have a look at those links and I am sure I will be more knowledgeable again 😊 Thanks.
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Post by maria on Apr 6, 2018 6:04:12 GMT -5
Hi, do you know any specific reason why clusters of bean are not appropriate for further processing? Also, do you encounter hair in your beans while sorting them out? Thank you. Maria
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Post by Thomas on Apr 6, 2018 7:34:37 GMT -5
Clusters of beans may not roast as even as non clustered beans. You can find hair, string, sticks, stones, and other types of debris in beans.
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Post by maria on Apr 6, 2018 8:30:18 GMT -5
Thank you Thomas. I wish I could pay off your help to all of you one day. Maria
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Post by dubmaji on Apr 12, 2018 17:38:12 GMT -5
Hello. Hope you’re doing fine. In case you are ordering directly from a source instead of a distributor, you should also look for signals of plague. I know this isn’t as common as finding dried beans or with some mold, but it won’t hurt take a look while sorting. Beans that have been attacked by insects have a little hole in some place around the husk that goes straight into the nib center. When you cut a grain by the half, you’ll notice there is some brown dust, which is nib residue and insect waste, and a kind of webby threads. I attached you some photos I took a few weeks ago. You may be able to see the dust. ibb.co/b9yfbnibb.co/dCemGn
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