Touring Maya Mountain Cacao
I visited Maya Mountain Cacao in the Toledo District of Belize to learn about the fermentation and drying process of cacao. Anna and Roxanna took me on a wonderful tour where they explained their process in detail and answered every question I had! Maya Mountain is a cooperative that purchases beans from 400 local farmers in the area (309 of which are certified organic). The farmers have to get the beans to them within 24 hours of picking the pods off the tree so that they can start the fermentation process (around 7 days). Once properly fermented, they move the beans to the indirect drying bins, spread them out and rake them just about every hour. This process can take 7+ days depending on the weather. Then they move the beans to bins where you can pull them out in direct sunlight and lastly to the concrete slab for final drying. The goal is to have less than 6.99% water content in the bean. Then they perform the “cut test” and if all is well, they package the beans up for shipping.