History of Cocoa
Cocoa's Journey to Malaysia
Cocoa's Journey to Malaysia
Cocoa, the nectar of the gods and even the cocoa tree's botanical name, 'Theobroma cacao' translated from the Greek means "food of the gods" has a history rooted in the mists of time as far back as 1662. In the early days, the native belief that cocoa tree was of divine origin and resulted in a holy ritual being performed whenever cocoa trees were planted.
Cocoa has successfully conquered all countries and continents of the world in just over 500 years since its first discovery in the ancient civilization of the Mayas and Aztecs in South America. In South America, the Aztecs considered the beverage a royal drink served in ceremonial golden goblets. The Mayas of the Yucatán and the Aztecs of Mexico cultivated cocoa and the Aztec emperor Montezuma is said to have regularly consumed a preparation called chocolatl, a mix of roasted cocoa nibs, maize, water and spice.
The cocoa tree soon began to appear in Spanish colonies some 20 years after it had been brought back by the early explorers. However, the processing of cocoa beans began in earnest, but under a veil of secrecy in monasteries. Chocolate was restricted to nobility and the recipes were kept secret for nearly 100 years. Hernando Cortez brought back the first cocoa and chocolate drink recipe to the Court of King of Spain in 1528. Gradually a transformation began. Cane sugar was added. Newly discovered spices such as vanilla and cinnamon were also used as flavourings.
Then chocolate spread, to France in 1615, the UK in 1650s and in America in 1755. There was no looking back. Cocoa and chocolate took America and the world by storm. Today it is the most popular and most relished flavour in the world.
Cocoa was first introduced to South East Asia in 17th century by the Spanish. The Spanish brought the cocoa from Latin America to the Philippines in 1670. Then, it was believed that the cocoa tree was later brought to Indonesia and Sabah in the early 18th century.
In Malaysia, the first cocoa planted area was found in Melacca in 1778. Subsequently, the cocoa planting was started in a plotted area at Serdang Agriculture Station and Silam Agriculture Research Center, Sabah. The earliest cocoa commercialization started between 1853 to 1959 where cocoa types Amelonado was first planted at Jerangau, Terengganu. The planted area was 403 hectarages.
Cocoa trial was further undertaken at Serdang, Cheras, Kuala Lipis and Temerloh between 1936 to 1940. However, cocoa was only actively planted after world war II. Cocoa officially came to Quoin Hill, Tawau, Sabah in 1960. From then on, there was no turning back to cocoa fever.
Sejarah Koko
Koko, madu kepada dewata di mana nama saintifiknya Theobroma Cacao jika diterjemah dari bahasa Greek bermakna makanan dewata mempunyai sejarah bermula dari tahun 1662. Pada peringkat awal, koko dikaitkan dengan ketuhanan di mana penyembahan dibuat setiap kali pokok koko ditanam.
Koko telah berjaya menguasai seluruh negara dan benua-benua dunia dalam masa 500 tahun sejak ia pertama kali ditemui oleh masyarakat kaum Maya dan Aztecs di Amerika Selatan. Kaum Aztec menganggap minuman koko sebagai minuman Maharaja sahaja. Kaum Maya di Yucatán dan Aztec di Mexico telah menanam koko dan dipercayai Maharaja Aztec Montezuma seringkali menikmati hidangan minuman Chocolath iaitu campuran nib koko yang dipanggang, jagung, air dan rempah.
Koko mula berkembang ke Sepanyol 20 tahun kemudian setelah ianya dibawa balik oleh pengembara-pengembara Eropah. Pada peringkat awal, koko hanya dinikmati oleh orang-orang Sepanyol. Bekalan koko yang terhad menyebabkan mereka menyimpan rahsia kegunaan koko selama 100 tahun. Hernando cortez telah membawa balik koko serta resipi minuman chocolath ke Sepanyol pada tahun 1528. Kemudian berlaku transformasi di mana gula mula dicampur. Penemuan rempah-rempah baru seperti vanila dan kayu manis juga telah digunakan sebagai perisa.
Selepas itu, koko terus berkembang ke benua-benua lain, Perancis pada tahun 1615, UK pada tahun 1650 dan Amerika pada tahun 1755. Sehingga kini, koko merupakan perisa yang paling popular dan digemari di seluruh dunia.
Koko mula diperkenalkan di Asia Tenggara oleh orang Sepanyol pada kurun ke 17. Mereka membawa koko dari Amerika Latin ke Filipina dalam tahun 1670. Adalah dipercayai bahawa pokok koko kemudiannya dibawa ke Indonesia dan Sabah pada awal kurun ke-18.
Di Malaysia, kawasan tanaman koko pertama sekali ditemui di Melaka dalam tahun 1778. Selepas itu, penanaman koko mulai dijalankan di Stesen Pertanian Serdang dan Pusat Penyelidikan Pertanian Silam, Sabah. Pengkomersialan koko berlaku di antara tahun 1853 hingga 1959 di mana koko jenis Amelonado pertama kali ditanam di Jerangau, Terengganu yang melibatkan kawasan seluas 403 hektar.
Percubaan penanaman koko seterusnya dijalankan di Serdang, Cheras, Kuala Lipis dan Temerloh di antara tahun 1936 hingga 1940. Walau bagaimanapun, penanaman koko secara aktif hanya berlaku selepas perang dunia kedua. Koko secara rasminya ditanam di Quoin Hill, Tawau, Sabah pada tahun 1960.
Cocoa Processing
Spilling the Beans on Cocoa
The cocoa beans is the seed of the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao). The cocoa tree produces cocoa pods. The cocoa pods are harvested when fully ripe and their colour has turned to fully yellow or orange. Harvested cocoa pods are brought to a convenient place and usually a kept for about a week prior to splitting. After splitting the fresh and wet cocoa beans are extracted.
The wet cocoa beans are taken to the processing centre or factory for fermentation for 5 days in a shallow box at a dept of between 25cm to 38cm. During the fermentation process, a complex chemical changes take place and the chocolate flavour is developed. The beans are turned once on a third day of fermentation. On the sixth day, the fermented beans are taken out for drying in the sun or a hot air dryer to a moisture content of between 6 and 7.0%. Using a hot air dryer, a 3-day drying schedule at a temperature of 50° to 55°C is recommended. It is during this stage that the brown colour develops and further flavour development occurs.
The dried cocoa beans are either graded and packed in new jute sacks to a nett weight of 62.5 kg for export or roasted and ground to produce cocoa liquor which is cocoa mass in semi-liquid, non-alcoholic form. This is then pressed to obtain cocoa butter and cocoa cake. The cocoa cake is then ground to form cocoa powder. Each stage in the processing of cocoa alters its chemistry. During the production of cocoa powder, roasting of the beans occurs, prior to roasting the beans can taste bitter and acidic. The roasting process alters the beans to make them less acidic and improves the flavour. The cocoa powder is also used as a principal ingredient in a rich variety of foods and beverages making cocoa truly one of nature's most versatile products.
These natural products from cocoa beans are then mixed with different proportions of milk and sugar to form chocolate. During chocolate production, a conching process is undertaken in which chocolate paste is pounded to form a smooth paste. This process also reduces the bitterness of chocolate and improves its flavour and texture.
Pemprosesan Koko
Pengasingan Biji Koko
Biji koko adalah benih pokok koko (Theobroma cacao) yang mana akan menghasilkan buah koko. Buah koko dituai apabila cukup matang dan warna buah telah bertukar menjadi kekuning-kuningan. Buah-buah koko yang dituai akan disimpan di tempat yang sesuai selama satu minggu untuk proses pembelahan bagi mengeluarkan biji-biji koko basah.
Biji-biji koko basah akan dibawa ke pusat pemprosesan untuk proses fermentasi atau pemeraman. Proses ini akan mengambil masa selama lima hari dengan penggunaan kotak cetek yang mempunyai kedalaman antara 25 cm hingga 38 cm. Semasa proses ini, berlaku pertukaran kimia kompleks dan citarasa coklat terbentuk. Biji-biji koko diterbalikkan sekali pada hari ketiga proses fermentasi. Pada hari keenam, biji-biji yang telah difermentasi akan dijemur di bawah sinaran cahaya matahari atau dikeringkan dengan mesin pengering dengan kandungan kelembapan antara 6 dan 7.0%. Jika pengeringan dilakukan dengan mesin pengering, jadual pengeringan adalah selama 3 hari dengan suhu antara 50 - 55oC. . Pada peringkat ini, warna kecoklatan terbentuk dan terdapat peningkatan dalam citarasa coklat.
Selepas pengeringan biji-biji koko kering akan digred dan dimasukkan ke dalam karung guni mengikut berat bersih 62.5 kg untuk dieksport atau menjalani proses pemanggangan dan pengisaran untuk menghasilkan likur koko iaitu pes koko dalam bentuk separa-cair dan nyah-alkohol. Pes koko kemudiannya mengalami proses pemerahan untuk memperolehi lemak koko dan kek koko. Kek koko pula akan dikisar halus untuk menghasilkan serbuk koko. Setiap peringkat dalam pemprosesan koko mengubah bentuk kimia koko. Proses pemanggangan dilakukan untuk menghasilkan serbuk koko. Sebelum proses ini, biji-biji koko mempunyai rasa pahit dan asidik. Oleh itu, proses pemanggangan ini membantu untuk mengurangkan rasa asidik dan memperbaikki citarasa coklat. Serbuk koko juga digunakan sebagai bahan utama dalam pelbagai makanan dan minuman.
Produk-produk hasil dari biji koko kemudiannya diadun dengan susu dan gula untuk menghasilkan coklat. Semasa penghasilan coklat, proses conching dilakukan untuk menyebatikan lagi adunan coklat. Di samping itu, proses ini dapat mengurangkan rasa pahit dan menambahkan lagi citarasa dan tekstur coklat.
The Cocoa Processing Chain
