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How Peruvian cacao is fermented and dried

From pod to bean: how Peruvian farmers ferment cacao in tornillo wood boxes and dry it slowly in sun and shade to keep its fruit and flower notes.

Cacao beans fermenting and drying on wooden platforms — Photo: Kawê Rodrigues / Unsplash

Most of these origins are processed the same careful way. After harvest the beans ferment for six to seven days in boxes made of tornillo, a local hardwood that adds no taste of its own. For the first two days the beans rest, and after that they are turned every day so they ferment evenly. Chuncho is the exception, with a shorter 4–5 day fermentation.

Dried cacao beans in a hand — Photo: Pablo Merchán Montes / Unsplash

Then the beans dry for six to eight days: first in the sun, piled and turned for two to four days, then spread out on covered tarps or mesh shelves to finish slowly in the shade. Clouds and rain can change the timing. Slow, gentle drying keeps the fruit and flower notes that make these cacaos special. Macambo is different again: it is not fermented at all, only peeled wet and dried in the sun.

Peruvian cacaos on our list

Sumaq Cacaosito · Chuncho
Kawsay Cacaosito · Kichwa-Lamista communities
Moruga · Chuncho Chuncho
Pure Kakaw · Cusco Cusco
Ritual Cacao · Peru Asháninka Asháninka

Tasted one of them? Give it your score from 1 to 5 on the ranking. Scores come only from people who drink cacao and are never for sale.

More Peruvian cacao origins

Learn about cacao

Sources

Facts gathered from the sources above, including Cacao Life (a Peruvian cacao exporter), scientific studies and Peruvian news agencies; the text is our own. Photos from Unsplash. Last checked 2026-11-04.