Buying cacao beans for making chocolate

Fermented and dried cacao beans, sold by weight, usually in sacks of several kilograms because that is the unit the trade moves in. Small quantities are available from specialist suppliers who break bulk, and they cost proportionally more.

The critical property is that the beans are well fermented and properly dried. No amount of careful roasting, grinding or conching recovers under-fermented beans — the flavour precursors were never created — and this is the single most important thing to establish before buying.

Harvest year, because beans age and older stock loses aroma. Origin at a level narrower than a country if possible. Fermentation protocol, or at least a cut-test result: the cut test opens a sample of beans and reports the proportion that are fully brown, purple, slaty or mouldy, and a supplier selling to makers will have one.

Moisture content matters for storage — beans that are too damp mould, beans that are too dry are brittle and lose shell integrity. And ask what the beans are intended for. A supplier selling to bean-to-bar makers is a different proposition from one selling ceremonial or snacking cacao.

Minimum order quantities are usually the constraint for a home maker. Several kilograms is a lot of chocolate and beans do not keep indefinitely — store cool, dry, dark and sealed, and expect aroma to decline over a year.

Import rules differ by country and agricultural import restrictions apply to raw agricultural products in many jurisdictions. Check before ordering internationally rather than after.

And buy a small quantity of two or three origins before committing to a sack of one. The difference between origins at the bean stage is larger than most people expect, and finding out which you like is cheaper in small lots.