Sun drying vs artificial drying

Sun drying is slower and better for flavour. Artificial drying is faster and, in a wet climate, sometimes the only option that avoids mould.

Side by side

	Sun drying	Artificial drying	Why it matters
Speed	Five to fourteen days depending on weather.	One to two days.	Speed is the reason artificial drying exists. In a region where harvest coincides with the rains, waiting for sun means losing the crop to mould.
Acid removal	Gradual, allowing residual acetic acid to volatilise as the beans dry and internal reactions continue.	Too fast for much of it, so more acidity stays in the bean.	Rapidly dried beans are noticeably more acidic in the finished chocolate. This is the main quality argument for sun drying.
Case hardening risk	Low if turned regularly.	Real. A dry shell traps moisture inside, which invites internal mould.
Smoke taint risk	None.	High where wood-fired dryers vent through the drying chamber, which is a well-known defect in several producing regions.	Smoke taint is irreversible and detectable in the finished bar. It is the single most damaging artificial-drying failure.

Wherever weather permits. It is the quality default.

In wet-season harvests and high-rainfall regions, where the alternative is mould rather than better flavour — with indirect heating to avoid smoke.

Sun dryingSet against Artificial drying, with the practical consequence of each difference.
Artificial dryingSet against Sun drying, with the practical consequence of each difference.

ChocolateHQ editorial synthesis — ChocolateHQ(citation identity confirmed; passage not re-read)
Chocolate Science and Technology — Wiley-Blackwell(citation identity confirmed; passage not re-read)