Blog & News
Our Harmattan February Update
In January, we saw two major movements southwards of the ITF, which is a proxy for the southernmost reach of the harmattan. This intense harmattan activity was not expected, so we took this as an...
Fermentation
Cacao fermentation is essential for the development of the final chocolate flavour and its aromas. Despite this process commonly being refered to as bean fermentation, what actually ferments is the...
ENSO Update – Dec’21
The harmattan is a dry, northeasterly desert wind that blows from the Sahara. It sometimes reaches the African cocoa regions during the Northern Hemisphere winter, drying the plants and soil and...
Harmattan Monitoring – Dec’21
The ITF has been lagging slightly behind its normal position throughout most of the past month, only catching up to it in late November. By the end of the month, the ITF was located right along its...
Ivory Coast Crop Outlook: Oct’21
The canopy has continued to improve this month, thanks to the already dense foliage that was produced before the summer, alongside the new leaf flushing seen these last three weeks. The late...
Harmattan Seasonal Prediction: Oct’21
The harmattan is a dry, northeasterly desert wind that blows from the Sahara. It sometimes reaches the African cocoa regions during the Northern Hemisphere winter, drying the plants and soil and...
Black Pod Assessment: Sept’21
The rainfalls during the little dry season allowed the pathogen responsible for black pod disease to survive in the plantations. Consequently, it was well positioned to promptly flare up when rains...
Ghana Crop Outlook: Sept ’21
Over July and August the trees received a fair amount of water, allowing us to discount possible water stress during the little dry season. The canopy is confirmed as dense and strong almost...
Precipitation Monitoring
In line with predictions, September has so far brought well above-average precipitations in Ghana, SW Nigeria and Ivory Coast, where rains had already resumed mid-August. With precipitations between...