Cocoa bean pretreatment without using fossil fuels

The yield of cocoa nibs largely depends on the pretreatment of the cocoa beans before winnowing. Traditional predrying using hot air results in high water loss and thus embrittlement of the cocoa beans. In addition to infrared pretreatment, steam-heated systems provide a sustainable alternative, particularly where fossil fuel-based heating is not feasible or desired.

The UTTS pretreatment system uses saturated steam as an energy source to thermally condition the beans under controlled conditions. Heat is transferred indirectly, ensuring that the steam does not come into direct contact with the product. The indirect heat transfer also minimizes the water loss and thus embrittlement of the cocoa beans.

During the process, moisture within and between shell and nib is heated. This creates internal pressure, loosening the shell from the nib while maintaining bean flexibility. As a result, the formation of fines during breaking is reduced and shell separation is significantly improved.

Uniform heat transfer ensures consistent internal bean temperature, enabling stable process conditions and reproducible results. Batch operation allows precise control of process parameters and full traceability under varying raw material and ambient conditions.

In addition, the pretreatment supports higher throughput in downstream roasting processes due to preheated product and thus reduced roasting time.