## 3 Results and Discussion
### Physicochemical Parameters in Cocoa Beans during SF and SC  
In Figure 3, concerning the internal pH in the bean, the values in both fermentations were above 4.3, higher than that reported for the Forastero variety, which was 3.32 [25]. In addition, the pH tended to decrease at the end of the fermentation process (in SF, it reached 4.48, and in SC, it reached 4.34; see Table S2). The results are similar to those obtained by [PERSON] and [PERSON] [47], where the decrease was in the range of 4.5-5 (well-fermented beans), and in the study of [PERSON] et al. [39], who recorded pH values from 4.5 to 4.8, which can be explained by the activity of the fermenting bacteria (lactic and acetobacter) that promote the incorporation of organic acids [36; 48; 49; 50]. Following the behavior of internal pH, [PERSON] et al. [51] and [PERSON] et al. [49] consider that a pH close to 5.0 is related to cocoa with better aromatic and sensory profiles; in our study, a pH of 4.9 and 5.5 (Figure 3) was observed in SF between 48 and 96 h, while in SC, it was between 48 and 72 h, indicating a difference in the final cocoa quality [39]; the data are presented in the Supplementary Material (Table S2). Regarding the fermentation index (FI) of the beans in both treatments, it can be seen that it increases with time, similar to that reported by [PERSON] et al. [52]. Initially, the IF was below 1 until 48 h in both fermentations and specifically below 1 until 120 h in cocoa fermentation from Copallin. This suggests that environmental factors influence the time to reach an acceptable degree of fermentation. Generally, an FI value between 1 and 1.2 is considered as sufficiently fermented cocoa [37; 50; 53]; according to the results obtained, it can be indicated that regardless of the use of culture or not acceptable indexes being recorded, this is related to what was indicated by [PERSON] et al. [54], where there was no variation of IF in cocoa fermented with and without yeast starter culture. In the cocoa from Guadalupe and Tolopampa, an FI indicating adequate fermentation was obtained at 72 h, which was similar to what was obtained by [PERSON] and [PERSON] [15], [PERSON] et al. [54], and [PERSON] et al. [37]; however, in the cocoa from Copallin, an adequate FI was only obtained at 120 h, which could be due to other factors such as the origin or conditions of the fermentation process such as pH [55]. However, in the cocoa from Guadalupe (SF and SC) and Tolopampa (SF), the FI was higher than 1.6, i.e., (Table S2), over-fermented, which suggests taking into account the origin of the cocoa under any type of fermentation (spontaneous or with starter culture) [54]. In our study, Aw in SF ranged from 0.89 to 0.96 and in SC from 0.87 to 0.92, as shown in Figure 3, showing slightly lower values, and these results were similar to those obtained by [PERSON] et al. [56]. It can be seen that the Aw showed low values between 72 and 96 h in the fermentations carried out, which, together with IF, internal pH, and bean moisture, can become physicochemical indicators of the degree of fermentation of cocoa [49]. In the SF, the %MC was not very representative; the beans of Guadalupe, Tolopampa, and Copallin started with 29.47%, 32.93%, and 29.93%, ending with 36.19%, 23.39%, and 28.08%. In comparison, in the SC, the results started with 33.10%, 27.91%, and 31.56%, ending with a slight increase to 35.94%, 31.16%, and 34.18%, respectively (Table S2). These data confirm the findings of [PERSON] et al. [39], who stated that origin does not affect cocoa moisture. Acidity is an indicator obtained during bean fermentation [29]; the data recorded indicate that the titratable acidity (TTA) presents stable levels until 24 h, where it begins to increase up to 120 h. Then, it decreases in cocoa from Guadalupe and Tolopampa, while Copallin begins to decrease at 144 h in SF (Table S2). In SC, high TTA values were recorded at 96 h in cocoa from Tolopampa and Copallin and at 144 h in cocoa from Guadalupe. These behaviors are similar to those reported by [PERSON] et al.