The standard method for evaluating the quality of cocoa beans is a cut test on which the interior of a certain number of beans that have been longitudinal cut are visually inspected.
The sample of coca beans shall be thoroughly mixed and then ‘quartered’ down to leave a heap of slightly more than 300 beans.
The first 300 beans shall then be counted off, irrespective of size, shape and condition.The 300 beans shall be cut lengthwise through the middle and examined.
Separate counts shall be made of the number of beans which are defective in that they are moldy, slaty, insect damaged, germinated or flat. The beans should be free from the following defects:
*Internal moldiness
*Slaty color, denoting undercuring
*Off flavors, denoting improper fermentation
*Smoky or hammy favor, denoting faulty drying
*Germination
*Breakage or damage by insects
*Shriveling or flatness.
Where a bean is defective in more than one respect, only one defect shall be counted and the defect to be counted shall be the defect which occurs first on the foregoing list of defects.
The examination for this test shall be carried out in good day light or equivalent artificial as a percentage of the 300 beans examined.
The Cut Test of Cocoa
