{"id":85,"date":"2025-02-07T14:46:43","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T14:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/?page_id=85"},"modified":"2025-03-13T13:38:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T13:38:20","slug":"cocoa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/cocoa\/","title":{"rendered":"Cocoa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cocoa has a rich history in Jamaica, with cultivation dating back several centuries. The Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) oversees the cocoa industry, ensuring quality standards and supporting farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jamaican cocoa is renowned for its fine flavor, attributed to the island’s unique climate and soil conditions. Local companies, such as the Pure Chocolate Company, collaborate with farmers to produce high-quality cocoa products, emphasizing sustainable and ethical practices. The two varieties grown most commonly in Jamaica are the Criollo and Trinitario varieties of cocoa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cocoa was said to have originated in the Yucatan Peninsula and was treated as a luxury by the Aztecs and even used as currency. The Maya area is accredited with developing the fermentation of cocoa. The cocoa flavor we know today is a 2-phenyl-4-methyl gene that also contains anandamide, a fatty acid neurotransmitter and creates a sensation similar to THC. The flavor profiles in Jamaican cocoa include notes of floral, mature fruits, herbal, and wood. Growing cocoa in Jamaica has its challenges,  there are various diseases infecting Jamaican cocoa trees including, black pod disease, swollen shoot disease, frosty pod rot, etc\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To grow cocoa the trees require at least 60 inches of rainfall per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cocoa Pod At Mount Pleasant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Being in Jamaica I was introduced to the making and consumption of Jamaican chocolate tea balls. This is a traditional process that transforms raw cacao beans into a rich, spiced chocolate used for brewing chocolate tea. The process of this starts from harvesting ripe cacao pods, and removing the juicy beans. The beans are then fermented for five to seven days, a crucial step that develops their chocolate flavor while breaking down the mucilage. After fermentation, they are spread out on bamboo mats, concrete slabs, or raised drying beds and left in the sun to dry for one to two weeks, being turned regularly to ensure even drying and no mold formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once dried, the beans are roasted in either a coal pot, cast iron pot, or drum roaster over a low flame. This enhances their rich chocolaty flavors and reduces bitterness. After roasting, the beans are cracked and winnowed, where their husks are removed, leaving behind cacao nibs. The nibs are then ground into a thick, oily paste using a mortar and pestle, or mechanical grinder, which releases cocoa butter, making the mixture smooth and pliable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big thing for me was the spices adding into the cocoa that makes it unique. When working with Nzinga she said she uses, cinnamon, pimento (allspice), and sometimes vanilla. These spices are ground and mixed into the cacao paste, enhancing the flavor. The spiced chocolate paste is then shaped into small, dense balls and left to harden at room temperature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To prepare the tea, one or two balls are grated into hot water or milk, and boiled. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cocoa has a rich history in Jamaica, with cultivation dating back several centuries. The Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) oversees the cocoa industry, ensuring quality standards and supporting farmers. Jamaican cocoa is renowned for its fine flavor, attributed to the island’s unique climate and soil conditions. Local companies, such as the Pure Chocolate Company, … Continue reading Cocoa<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1433,"featured_media":121,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1433"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85\/revisions\/246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}