HOW DÙNE IS MADE: PART I – FARMING
Our cocoa beans at Dùne are harvested during the main crop – between November and January every year.
First, the ripe pods are harvested at the perfect time, and stored for a few days. Pod storage reduces the portion of pulp sticking at the bean. This step is important in developing a well-balanced flavor.
After pod storage, the pods are cracked open with a knife to extract the puply beans by hand.
The extracted wet, fresh beans are then heaped in banana leaves to ferment for about one week. Fermentation is a critical step in forming the cocoa flavor precursors.
After fermentation, the cocoa beans are dried in the sun until the moisture content of the beans drops from about 70% to 7%.
Dùne supports local cocoa farmers by purchasing cocoa directly from farmers, and not through brokers.
