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Cocoa pods are harvested and split open to release the beans.
The beans are embedded in a pulp. When the pods are broken the beans and pulp are sterile but they become contaminated with a variety of microorganisms from the pods.
The pulp surrounding the beans undergoes a fermentation process, which develops the color and flavor of the beans.There are two different types of processes, an old process and and new process. The old process is the longer of the two. In this process you have to take all the cocoa beans out of the collected pods, put them in a pile, and cover them in leaves making sure they are completely covered. Every 24 hours the beans will have to be turned to prevent them from going bad. The new process is a new breakthrough in Ganaian farming technologies. In this process a thin layer of cocoa beans have to be put in a short, well covered and ventalated crate. Every two days the crate will be turned and after 6 days the process is done.
If cocoa pods are deemed unworthy, they are not dried out in the fermentation process as the high quality beans. Instead, they are placed to the side to have fats extracted for cosmetics. The outside of the pod is burned and the ashes are used for soap and fertilizer.
When the process of fermentation is done for the high quality beans, the beans are dried out and later used for to make chocolate and cocoa butter. Cocoa pulp can be eaten fresh or made into cocoa juice.