Drying defects
Case hardening, mould and smoke — three faults from one step, and all of them survive everything downstream.
Drying produces three characteristic faults, and what unites them is that none can be removed later.
Case hardening comes from drying too fast: the bean's exterior sets before interior moisture can migrate out, sealing acetic acid inside. The result is sharply sour chocolate no matter how well the beans fermented.
Mould comes from drying too slowly in humid conditions, or from moisture reabsorbed afterwards. It gives musty, cellar-like flavours and it is the reason storage discipline matters as much as drying does.
Smoke taint comes from directly wood-fired dryers, where combustion gases contact the beans. It is unmistakable and permanent.
What it does
Describes failure modes rather than a technique. Included because all three are diagnosable in the finished bar.
Why it matters
Drying is the last point at which fermentation acid can leave the bean, and every fault here is permanent.
When it goes wrong
Case hardening from excessive heat, mould from slow drying or damp storage, and smoke from direct firing.
Commonly misunderstood
That a sour chocolate was over-fermented. Sourness is usually acid that drying failed to remove rather than acid that fermentation overproduced.
Related
Covered in
- Drying cacaoEach failure mode in detail.
- Chocolate defects and their causesThe drying failures in detail.
Sources
- ChocolateHQ editorial synthesis — ChocolateHQ(citation identity confirmed; passage not re-read)
- Chocolate Science and Technology — Wiley-Blackwell(citation identity confirmed; passage not re-read)