Production

Farmmanagement

We are not only selling cocoa and coffee, we also grow it! We believe in a sustainable and traceable cocoa supply chain. Growing cocoa and coffee is not easy. A lot of work needs to be done at a farm. Typical farmwork constists of

• Nursery: Growing young seedlings for outplanting

• Pruning overgrown tress, to improve yields and avoid deseases
• Removing farmwaste from the fields
• Preparing soil for organic fertilization
• Preparing grafted seedlings for single-variety in our plantations
• Removing deseased pods from trees and ground
• Harvesting ripe pods
• Fermentation of fresh beans in the processing centers
• Drying to 6% moisture
• Preparing standartized bags for export
• Transport to warehouse
• Export to international buyers and companies

BALMED PROCESSING CENTERS©

Finest cocoa flavour is in the air, when you visit our processing centers.
The key for fine flavour is propper fermentation and drying. Only proper fermentation and drying guarantees a fine flavor.
Our cocoa beans are fermented for 6-7 days for mild harmonic flavour, in special constructed step arrayed woodboxes. The fermentation process is highly important because it kills the seedling inside the bean, a principal cause for mould. Unfermented cocoa beans taste bitter, the quality is low and they are not suitable for quality chocolate and cacao production.

After propper fermentation it comes to drying stage. Our cocoa is dried to 6% moisture content with the help of solar dryers. Our solardryers provide perfect moisture results and climate friendly production by just using the natural power oft he sun, to dry our products. There´s no waste of electricity. The steady airflow inside the dryers guarantees a indulgent drying process of the beans. The solar plastic keeps the beans clean from farmdirt, rain and dust, which is appreciated by the chocolate industry. All the necessary steps are done in Balmed´s processings centers. Processing Centers enable Balmed to enforce the quality traceability procedures, as required for various certification, to guarantee superior fine flavoured cocoa and coffee, right from the farmgate.

Quality Management

We export certified cocoa, coffee & cashew. Various certifications, like UTZ, FAIRTRADE, ORGANIC and RAINFOREST ALLIANCE are available. According to the international food and hygenic standarts we only use new and sound food grade jute bags for shipping. Balmed runs various international certification with its certified farmers and farms. All certified areas are clearly separated from each plot. The farmers get trained on good agricultural practices and improved farm techniques.