Sorting harvested cacao pods at Oscar's farm (video & transcript)

Transcript

Today, you’re observing the cacao pod selection process on Oscar’s farm. This is the part after they’ve already been harvested. The cacao pods are gathered and consolidated in one spot. The varieties here are the native cacao and the Criollo.

The path got really muddy as we moved through the land. Oscar’s grandfather planted these cacao trees here. Cacao trees need shade, so they grow in the undergrowth of the forest.

When selecting pods, any with black spots are not used for high-flavor cacao. They must be perfect. If there’s even one small black dot, they don’t use it for us. For example, this pod here is not selected for fine flavor; it’s totally a commodity grade.