Answer:

SIMILAR to coffee, cacao picking is a difficult task. And one of the biggest challenges lies in telling when the pods are RIPE. Under-ripe cacao will not YET have developed all its wonderful flavors and aromas while, as the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) explains, over-ripe ones will start to germinate.

Similar to coffee, cacao picking is a difficult task. And one of the biggest challenges lies in telling when the pods are ripe. Under-ripe cacao will not yet have developed all its wonderful flavors and aromas while, as the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) explains, over-ripe ones will start to germinate.However, unfortunately, cacao pods don’t always ripen at the same time – even when they’re on the same tree.

Similar to coffee, cacao picking is a difficult task. And one of the biggest challenges lies in telling when the pods are ripe. Under-ripe cacao will not yet have developed all its wonderful flavors and aromas while, as the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) explains, over-ripe ones will start to germinate.However, unfortunately, cacao pods don’t always ripen at the same time – even when they’re on the same tree.Tuta Aquino, the fine cacao producer behind Vale Potumuju/Fazenda Santa Rita in Bahia, BRAZIL, tells me, “It’s a major challenge to inspect the crop to determine the cacao pod ripeness. Here in Bahia, we have all kinds of cacao varieties. In our CASE, we have all sorts of Trinitario hybrids… when ripe, some are yellow, some are greenish-yellow, other are completely red, and others gold.”