Cacao Fermentation with Sarah Bharath (Ep. 59)

Many people don’t realize chocolate is a fermented food. Before we can make chocolate from cacao, that cacao has to undergo a fermentation process. This process is usually spontaneous, meaning the microbiotic cultures that carry out the fermentation are not manually added to the fermentation substrate but instead occur naturally. That doesn’t mean it’s a hands off process. A great deal of knowledge and expertise both traditional and technical is required to yield the best results.

In this episode we take a deep dive into cacao fermentation with Sarah Bharath. Sarah works with cacao farmers in Trinidad & Tobago on behalf of Meridian Cacao, assisting them in improving their farming and post-harvest processes. Sarah is both a passionate advocate for cacao farmers and an inquisitive researcher whose curiosity drives her enthusiasm for always learning more about this fascinating crop. Today we talk all about the cacao fermentation process, how the variables of that process impact the flavors of chocolate, and how climate change is forcing farmers and scientists to constantly adapt to new realities.

It’s interesting to note is that some of the same microorganisms we see in the beer world are also involved in fermenting cacao, such as Saccharomyces Cerevisiae (ale yeast), Lactobacillus (often used when brewing sour beer styles), and Acetobacter (which subtly influences the fermentation of Flanders sour ales). Additionally, the fermentation itself is spontaneous, similar to the fermentation of Lambic and other wild ale styles.

You can listen to Sarah talk specifically about Trinidadian cacao and hear from a brewer who works with it here.

You can hear Sarah talk about working with cacao lavado—unfermented cacao—here.

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The music for this episode is by my dear friend, indie folk musician Anna ps. You can find out more about Anna’s music in the show notes or at her website annapsmusic.com, where you can also get in touch to book her to play at your brewery or other establishment.

Guests:

Sarah Bharath is a self-proclaimed soil-to-seed worker who came to cacao via academia, but found her roots best anchored alongside cacao trees and their field companions. She has focused much of her last 24 years on the cacao plant and its growing system, what both need to thrive, and how post-harvest processing coupled with sensory science can be used to explore the many hidden dimensions of cacao. She works directly with cacao producers to co-create solutions to field-based and processing challenges, with an increasing focus on teaching applied science in the real world of cacao and regenerative agriculture systems.