Although cacao trees grow about sixty feet in the wild, plantation owners trim them to about 20 feet so that workers can reach the pods at harvest time. Since the cacao tree prefers shade banana trees, rubber trees, or coconut palms are planted beside the cacao tree in the orchard. The pods take five to six months to develop. When the pods ripen they turn from green or yellow to orange or red. Cacao trees can be harvested twice a year.
Workers use a machete to cut the pods off the trees.
They are placed on banana leaves in large wooden boxes. They are left to ferment for several days. Criollo beans usually ferment for two to three days while forastero and trinitario beans fervent three to seven days. During fermentation the beans become darker and wrinkled and lose their bitter taste. After fermentation the beans are sun-dried for several days.