In addition, it is well-known for cocoa tree which helps to produce aromatic, nutritious and tasty drink. If you have a chance to go to Can Tho City, do not miss a visit to Mr. Muoi Cuong’s cocoa garden.

Mr. Cuong has a one-hectare cocoa garden with over 2,000 trees of more than 15 varieties. His garden has a particular feature: different fruit trees grow higher above creating shade for the cocoa tree’s development.

Here visitors not only enjoy the peaceful life of the countryside, a cool breeze in the garden, delicious fruit, but also feel the simplicity of the people here.

To get delicious cocoa powder which we often use as beverage, the cocoa growers have to follow several stages.

Old Cocoa pod picked from the tree are split off to take the pulp out. White pulp looks very nice. Then it will be let fermented in 6-7 days so that its thin outer layer will be separated, then it will dry directly in the sun.

The Pods of Phong Dien Cocoa.

Pods Phong Dien.

The dry cocoa pods will be roasted using a clay pot at high temperature until the beans have a distinct aroma of cocoa spreading around. When the beans are ready, pour them out on the rush mat to let them cool and their pericarp layers will be removed.

Pericarp splitting stage is time consuming and requires much effort and patience from the workers. There are many ways to split up the silky layer; for example, you can use the forces of your thumb to peel it. This way hurts the fingertips a lot yet the productivity is low. Another way is to use a stone grinder (to make rice flour), whose jack will be pushed up so that there is  a gap between the two parts of the grinder; therefore, the bean will be ground into 2 or three parts. After grinding is finished, broken beans are put into a bamboo basket. As the strong winds blow, they will blow the silky layers away as they are poured from the above.

Once small and lightweight silk layers are blown away, some thick ones are still mingled in the basket of cocoa beans. These layers will be removed using spathes of areca tree or “nia”_ a large and flat bamboo basket. Today, a modern way is to use electric fan. This stage requires flair, skillfulness, cleverness as well as the softness of your hands.

At this moment, the rest of the cocoa beans are put in the mortar and the pestle is used to grind all beans into Cocoa powder, which can be mixed with boiling water, added some sugar or milk as required to have a kind of nice drink.

Also, cocoa beans can be used to make candy, butter, and liquor. A recent study by the University of California, San Francisco (USA) shows 1 cup of cocoa in the morning will help you to limit to 15% the risk of cancer (especially colon and stomach), help you more alert at work, reduce fatigue syndrome, stabilize blood sugar, heart-healthy food ... a delicious and nutritious product is waiting for you to discover.

If you come here, you can enjoy both the fresh air in the cocoa tree garden and exciting experience of processing procedures, taste the drink and buy cocoa products as gifts for your beloved. /.