Comparison of Cocoa Beans from China, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea

A survey on five kinds of cocoa beans from new cocoa planting countries was conducted to analyze each kind’s basic quality. The average bean weight and butter content of Hainan cocoa beans were the lowest, at less than 1.1 g, and 39.24% to 43.44%, respectively. Cocoa beans from Indonesia where shown to be about 8.0% and 9.0% higher in average bean weight and butter content, respectively, than that of Papua New Guinea and about 20.0% and 25.0% higher in average bean weight and butter content than Chinese dried beans, respectively. The average total polyphenolic content ranged from 81.22 mg/10 g to 301.01 mg/10 g. The Hainan 2011 sample had the highest total polyphenolic content, followed by the unfermented sample from Indonesia and the Papua New Guinea sample. The polyphenolic levels found in the Hainan 2010 sample were 123.61 mg/10 g and lower than the other three samples, but the Indonesian fermented sample had the lowest total polyphenolic content of 81.22 mg/10 g. The average total amino acid content ranged from 11.58 g/100 g to 18.17 g/100 g. The total amino acid content was the highest in the Indonesian unfermented sample, followed by the Hainan 2011 sample and the Papua New Guinea sample. The levels found in the Hainan 2010 sample were lower; the Indonesian fermented sample had the lowest total amino acid content.