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Post by chocomania on Mar 12, 2006 10:41:14 GMT -5
can we talk about cacao bean sources here? Mr. Nanci sells them and this is his site. I want to ask first before we start talking about sources just to make sure.
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Post by Alan on Mar 12, 2006 10:54:21 GMT -5
Hello,
I think that he prefers that if he sells things, then we don't post links publicly to other sources. If there are things that he doesn't sell though, then I'm sure it is not a problem. Also, if you would like to get something that he doesn't have, then he is often open to obtaining it if there is enough interest.
Sincerely,
Alan
Edited to say: John, please correct me if you have a different perspective on things than I have noted above.
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Post by Alchemist on Mar 12, 2006 22:18:25 GMT -5
You nailed it Alan. I prefer that I don't have to have competitors on my own site.
If you can do it without a link, I don't mind talking about it. Can you give me an idea what it is you want to ask or talk about? If really in doubt, drop me a private note and I can see what I think. I want good open discussions - I just would prefer not to have people zipping off for a better buy somewhere else.
And like Alan said, I am open to obtaining what people want, although I draw the line at supplying a bean just for it's name- "organic", "fair trade", "Criollo", "raw" - it can have one of those monikers but it has to taste good also.
BTW, thank you very much for asking first - I greatly appreciate it.
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Post by chocomania on Mar 13, 2006 22:45:01 GMT -5
A message from John "That kind of "source" is perfect. As you say, those are original cocoa sources, not local cocoa sources (i.e. scharffenberger). Go ahead and discuss that - that is actually the kind of discussion I would like."
were talking about cacao plantations as a source here (worldwide).
I'd like to post some pictures of cacao pods and beans to be identified. how do i post picture here?
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Post by Alan on Mar 13, 2006 22:52:36 GMT -5
You have to click on the little icon button that looks like a photo. It is in the bottom row, fourth from the left. You then have to put the URL of your image in between the image tags. So that means that your images have to be somewhere online already.
Alan
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Post by chocomania on Mar 15, 2006 22:06:08 GMT -5
i am far from being computer savvy so here is the link to the photos of my beans. i could not make it appear here in the forum. community.webshots.com/myphotos?action=viewAllPhotos&albumID=548595818&security=UbLDqKa little history. this bean came from our maid's backyard in the province. their town was famous for cacao during the spanish time (here in the philippines). so most of them has a very old tree in their backyard. they do some kind of pruning to make the trees bear fruit even when its old. she says the tree maybe over 20years old already since they were picking from it since they were kids. the cacao industry in that town has bee gone for a few years already since the disease on the plantation. so what's left are those in their backyard. i have no idea what type this is. im hoping some of you can identify. will upload more photos later after drying.
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Post by Samantha Madell on Mar 16, 2006 0:18:07 GMT -5
Hi chocomania,
I have a few comments to make regarding a possible ID for your cocoa.
One of the tell-tale characteristics of a Criollo pod is deep grooves down the length of the pod. Your pod doesn't appear to have these grooves, which suggests it's not Criollo.
One of the easiest pod shapes to identify is the Forastero variety called Amelonado. It's called this because it's quite spherical, and considered to be "melon" shaped. The pod you've got is quite elongated, so I'd say it's NOT Amelonado. :-)
A good way to obtain a clue as to a pod's variety is to cut one of the beans down the middle, and look at the colour of the "nib". Unfermented Forastero beans are a deep purple colour, while Criollo beans are a much paler, brownish colour. Trinitario beans are somewhere in between.
And a comment on your photos that's not related to an ID: it looks like the placenta has been left on the beans (the placenta is the stringy thing that attaches the beans to eachother, and to the husk before the husk is removed).
The placenta should be removed before fermentation.
Also, one of the roles of fermentation is to kill the beans before they germinate. The heat generated by correct fermentation kills the beans quite quickly, but you need a reasonably large pile of beans to generate this amount of heat.
Sam
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Post by chocomania on Mar 16, 2006 10:32:03 GMT -5
hi Oz choc,
thanks for the feedback. no worries about the placenta. i removed them right after taking the photo before fermentation. Im not sure if the heat its exposed to is enough. its currently wrapped in banana leaves and is inside my oven (no heat inside the oven - just like putting inside a cabinet). they maybe ready for drying by tomorow. more pictures when i get back next week - dried and roasted. unfortunately i dont have any more fresh beans to check the color of unfermented nibs. any other way to identify?
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Post by Samantha Madell on Mar 16, 2006 19:21:07 GMT -5
Chocomania - I'm looking forward to seeing the end result of your experiment!
Doing a cut test on fermented and dried beans is still very informative - it can tell you a lot about the variety of cocoa, as well as the effectiveness of the fermentation and drying procedures.
If the nib is dark brown and fissured (prone to breaking apart) then it's a well-fermented, well-dried Forastero.
If you cross-section a dried bean and it looks bright purple and has a cheesy texture, it's almost certainly a Forastero that hasn't been fermented adequately.
When the fermentation process has been totally disastrous you end up with something greyish looking, that smells rancid.
If the nib is pale, it's probably Criollo. And Trinitario will give you something in between! :-)
Sam
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Post by chocomania on Mar 24, 2006 4:37:45 GMT -5
i will upload the photos next week as soon as i get my camera back! left it during my trip.
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Post by sumirose on Dec 19, 2006 16:37:37 GMT -5
I am Sumi and i now live in las vegas, i grew up in the south pacific where we grow and prepare our own cocoa, but we can only get them when someone visits from the south pacific or we ourselves travel there and then hand carry the finished products for our uses here.
If this question is not conflicting with the cocoa biz sellers, then my question relating to source is "How can I buy some unroasted beans for our own family uses, relatives, and even our native church members that cannot drink coffee, we prepare them our slow old style of roasting, conching, etc?" Please??
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Post by sumirose on Dec 19, 2006 16:43:56 GMT -5
My name is Sumi, my question relating to cocoa sources is strictly for family use, we grew up in samoa down in the south pacific where we grow, pick, roast and conching for cocoa drinks, and we only can get them by someone visiting from samoa or we travel there ourselves and hand carry them here, we live now in las vegas and we would like to know where we can buy beans even unroasted beans, we know how to do it in our own old fashion way (smile), so, Please we would like to know if there is a warehouse close to las vegas to buy them from?
Sumi
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Post by vivachoco on Dec 20, 2006 23:07:10 GMT -5
dear sumi - i am sure you have figured out by now that you can order unroasted cocoa beans from this site - smaller and bigger quantities. i am sure there are other websites too, but i am not aware of them. sometimes you can also buy roasted/unroasted cocoa beans from restaurant supply places etc. but ah, it really is easy getting them from john here good luck.
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