harvested pods, the beans are placed in wooden boxes, allowing
natural fermentation for about 6 days. After fermentation, beans
are transferred to sun drying platforms where a gradual reduction
in moisture content occurs. When moisture content reaches values
sufficiently low (6e7%), beans are transferred to storage rooms,
then later bagged and marketed. At the manufacturing stage or
secondary processing, the dried fermented cocoa beans are roasted
and grinded and then follow two distinctive processing lines giving
as final product powdered cocoa or chocolate