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Post by jamescary on Mar 14, 2008 0:55:59 GMT -5
I've been doing some math... I weighed out 73 fermented Tabasco beans (all around average size) to get 1 ounce or 30 grams. From what I've read, a cacao pod contains around 35 beans. That means it takes 2 pods to make those 73 beans. My understanding is that cacao beans trade at just over $2000 per metric tonne or just over $2 per kg. For 30 grams of beans this is just over $0.06 for those 73 beans. That's $0.06 for 2 cacao pods.. Am I giving this away? I'm sure there is a market out there for pods and it will probably pay more than that... I hope I'm not going to get into trouble for thinking.. If you don't hear from me in a couple days.. edit: Thinking about shipping.. Could be quite a bit more adding to the cost of a pod.. Would it be interesting to find out how much.. But, my guess is that the market is probably willing to bear paying a couple dollars per pod retail (considering a pineapple is at least that much here in the States)..
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Post by Alan on Mar 14, 2008 8:02:15 GMT -5
I've been doing some math... I weighed out 73 fermented Tabasco beans (all around average size) to get 1 ounce or 30 grams. From what I've read, a cacao pod contains around 35 beans. That means it takes 2 pods to make those 73 beans. My understanding is that cacao beans trade at just over $2000 per metric tonne or just over $2 per kg. For 30 grams of beans this is just over $0.06 for those 73 beans. That's $0.06 for 2 cacao pods.. Am I giving this away? I'm sure there is a market out there for pods and it will probably pay more than that... I hope I'm not going to get into trouble for thinking.. If you don't hear from me in a couple days.. edit: Thinking about shipping.. Could be quite a bit more adding to the cost of a pod.. Would it be interesting to find out how much.. But, my guess is that the market is probably willing to bear paying a couple dollars per pod retail (considering a pineapple is at least that much here in the States).. There are also transportation costs, and with the price of oil..., and in the the case of dry cacao, warehousing. Also, commodity cacao/bulk cacao is currently trading at 2944.63 USD per MT but flavor cacao costs quite a bit more depending upon origin and quality of post-harvest processing.
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Post by seneca on Mar 14, 2008 11:26:23 GMT -5
Second that. I know of some growers getting almost 4X the current commodity price for fine flavor cacao.
Also, consider the environmental cost of shipping whole cacao pods...the overall weight of the fresh pod compared to that of the dried fermented seed is probably something like a 70-80% difference. (I.e., you'd be needlessly shipping 80% of the mass several thousand miles.)
With the complexity and relative uniqueness of cacao's post-harvest process, I don't think there's any comparison to be made with other tropical fresh fruit.
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Post by jamescary on Mar 15, 2008 11:37:53 GMT -5
Wow! It has gone up quite a bit recently... My numbers were from a couple years ago... I guess that's supply/demand and a weak dollar for ya
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jim
Neophyte
Posts: 7
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Post by jim on Apr 14, 2008 20:31:21 GMT -5
As an owner of a cacao farm in Ecuador, I have brought back newly harvested cacao pods on many occasions. (They're actually pretty heavy, so you can't bring to many in your luggage.) It is necessary to declare it when you enter the country (USA), but there are no restrictions on cacao pods (or at least no restrictions that the customs officials were aware of). Any tourist to a cacao growing area should have no trouble bringing a pod back as long as he or she declares it to customs officials upon return.
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Post by seneca on Apr 15, 2008 16:20:41 GMT -5
My experience has been that this is highly variable--I've had different ports of entry react quite differently to fresh cacao. There are restrictions, but not all customs officials are aware of them...
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Post by Brad on Apr 15, 2008 16:31:47 GMT -5
There are absolutely no restrictions on cocao like this to Canada! WOOO HOOO!
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Post by jamescary on Apr 15, 2008 16:45:01 GMT -5
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Post by jamescary on Apr 15, 2008 16:52:55 GMT -5
I got mine from Puerto Rico.
I would like to bring some back from Mexico if/when I get a chance to make a trip down there.
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Post by kauai cacao on May 31, 2008 4:28:58 GMT -5
Aloha cacaufarmer, I live on the island of Kauai and will start to harvest some pods this summer. Though our haul won't be huge, we would like to start fermenting and drying them. What is the instrument you use to test the percentage of moisture still left in the bean? I'm assuming that percentage # is the moisture left? Also, if you have the time, I would love to know if you could suggest the best way to ferment a small amount. I had been told that one needs, at the minimum, a box 20cm X 20cm X 20cm to get the beans to reach the temperature of 130 degrees (F) for a proper fermentation. Also, is it important to keep the beans in an anaerobic environment for the whole fermentation? To keep the heat in and the oxygen out, what would one cover the box with.... burlap or something more insulating? And finally, I've also been told to not use a plastic bucket, even food grade for fermenting. Do you know why this is? I thank you in advance for any and all information. Sorry, one more final question... we have a strong criollo variety, and I know this answer will depend on a lot of "if's", but what are some of the characteristics that we are looking for in a bean that is properly fermented? Are there any absolutes? Smell? Taste? What is looks like?, etc. Mahalo, kauai cacao
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Post by sharkman on Jun 1, 2008 3:01:26 GMT -5
Aloha Kauai cacao guy! Sharkman here on the Big Island near Hilo. Iv'e been growing and processing cacao here for about 3 years. Had some good and bad experiences, and now seem to be getting the practice down. The more pods the better; more mass more heat from the fermentation. I was thinking if you want to call me e-mail me at tshark@hawaii.com and we can exchange phone numbers and if possible I can help you get started. It's easy and making the chocolate is very cool. Sharkman
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