Cocoa beans are a part of peoples cultural heritage In many areas of the world. Modern methods of cocoa bean production for the manufacture of modern chocolate are tied to the origin of cocoa beans and the processing methods. This discusses a brief description of how cocoa beans impacts both science and culture and on the evolution of cocoa beans in Malaysia, the cocoa industry was at the top but later on had a major downfall, this effected the cocoa production drastically. There are ways farmers can help and with the help of the government if they decide to be involved can restore the cocoa production before more trees die out and it becomes too late.
Malaysia on the mapMalaysia cocoa bean production has gone from a small industry in 1970 later on becoming a huge production in the early 1918’s reaching its highest point in 1990 and then declining to how it was in the 1970’s. they called it the boom and bust behaviour. In the last five years Malaysia is a leading role in the cocoa production and today ranks as third largest producer coming after the ivory coast and brazil. Malaysia is importing more cocoa than it exports, we don’t know what the future holds for Malaysia considering there is a divide between eastern and western it is beyond the physical because people may say that it is as so stepping into a whole different country. The two divided sides remain similar with agricultural sectors and are steady with the production of cocoa beans till this date.
The early history of cocoa in Malaysia started off by being introduced to the plant in the 1600’s. In 1778 it was attempted to be planted by the Portuguese but failed, it was also brought in by brazil by British colonialists after they had successfully cultivated it in Africa. Malaysia has been growing cocoa for more than two decades because of the first recorded pods discovered in Malacca city in 1778, then Ceylon in 1770. During the next century, Malaysia was said to become a world power in cocoa production until world war 2 interrupted that 1trajectory, while Europe increased cultivation after the war ended. This impacted Sabah and Sarawak regions in Malaysia Borneo. Thirty years ago, 2Kota Kinabalu of Sabah was one of the main, cocoa producing areas in the world. That ended as soon as 3CBD appeared, this effected production by hardening the fruits and lowered production quantity rose while the cocoa production decreased. the most common crops around Sabah are oil palm, rubber, coffee, and smaller amounts of cocoa and tea increased while the cocoa production decreased.
1The path or track
2Kota Kinabalu is the capital city of Sabah
3CBD “cocoa pod border
The way cocoa beans are actually made into chocolate are by going through a process called fermentation. Fermentation is very important to flavour development and the final product. it is known without fermentation there would be no flavour at all. Yeast, bacteria, and enzymes ferment the white pulp, that surrounds the cocoa bean, the bean endures the acid, and the 4enzyme effects the fermentation of the pulp for the result they are transformed internally and externally. The pulp is 5sterile at first before it is removed from the pod, naturally the yeast and bacteria find their way to the pulp and the pod is opened. There are different fermentation methods that occur for example producers will make different choices in type and size of the fermentation vessel that is used, and the number of days they choose to ferment the cocoa. Generally speaking, all cocoa fermentation follow a similar process including an 6anaerobic phase and 7aerobic phase. There are specific details of each stage and are influenced by multitude of factors that aren’t limited to the pods (ripeness, quality, batch size), and climate weather conditions. 4biological molecules (proteins) speed up rate of virtually all of the chemical that place within cellscocoa fermenting5free from bacteria or other living microorganisms 6environments that lack, creates juicy barrier that blocks air from entering system 7environment that contains oxygen
Cocoa beans are important for our overall health they have many benefits known to have more than 300 healthful compounds. they include, phenylethylamine, theobromine, and polyphenols, like falvonoids. cocoa beans also contain vitamins and minerals they have a healthy does of potassium and copper (supports cardiovascular health, and iron, transmits oxygen through the body) calcium and magnesium are also found which is huge to organs that are necessary to function properly. cocoa beans surprisingly act as a antidepressant promotes as a positive mental health and are high antioxidant and cocoa beans are the best for that! cocoa also promotes to be an energy booster that reduces anxiety promoting alertness as a cup of coffee would do.
Of course too much of chocolate can be very unhealthy for us, to maintain the intake can be a benefit for us. Ways we can add cocoa beans into our diet is in their raw form, they can be purchased by health stores, it is possible to consume but it, it is found to be difficult to deal with the harsh, and bitter taste. Dark chocolate can be a substitute for a healthier option, dark chocolate has no less than 70% cacao with no other dairy products involved, this allows the body to absorb antioxidants.
Unfortunately issues with producing cocoa beans in Malaysia Is under threat. Malaysia being the third largest cocoa bean exporter in the world since then, they have decreased significantly south east Asia chocolate has been outpaced the ability of regional farmers to supply cocoa beans and has grown at an annual rate of five percent due to the rise of incomers consuming chocolate, for example cocoa bean output has decreased from 100,000 MT annually to just 30,000 MT in 2018. The reason for why the decline has been so significant is because of the pest and disease management, productivity improvement and low income for farmers, labour shortage and logistics being the secondary issues. farmers are dealing with ageing trees many of the trees were planted in the twentieth century, and have exceeded their production life. Farmers can re plant trees to stop the decline but the downside to that is they would have to give up immediate income, leading the farmers to turn to other crops and abandon the aged cocoa trees. specifically in Malaysia over the past three decades the expansion of palm oil planted in Malaysia has led to cocoa producers to exit the industry, the focus became on to palm oil. The reason for this is because cocoa benefits in areas that have natural shade that a forest has to be able to provide. the cocoa industry can grow in to what it used to be, the governments need to work closely with people that are involved physically in the cocoa fields to develop a sustainable and thought out plan that would take Malaysia back to where it used to be and many other cocoa supplies chain at the top once again.
Kaur, Amarjit. “THE ORIGINS OF COCOA CULTIVATION IN MALAYSIA.” Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 68, no. 1 (268), 1995, pp. 67–80. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41493265. Accessed 26 May 2020.
Fatimah Mohamed Arshad, Abdulla Ibragimov, 2015, International Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and Plantation, Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies, Vol. 1 (Sept.)
planting cocoa- challenges and reality in Malaysia, Lee, C. H. Malaysian Cocoa Board, 5th-7th Flr.,Wisma SEDCO Lorong Plaza Wawasan, Off Coastal Highway, Locked bag 211 88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
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