A study of wine fermentation from mucilage of cocoa beans (theobroma cacao l.). Cocoa mucilage, a by-product of cocoa beans processing, constitutes 10% of total cocoa beans, with soluble solids up to Bx, pH of – , rich in sugar, minerals, organic acids and phenolic compounds. | DALAT UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE Volume 6, Issue 3, 2016 387–397 387 A STUDY OF WINE FERMENTATION FROM MUCILAGE OF COCOA BEANS (Theobroma cacao L.) Nguyen Thi Thanh Tinha*, Nguyen Tien Ana, Ho Thi Thu Hoaa, Nguyen Thi Tuoia a The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Dalat University, Lamdong, Vietnam Article history Received: June 04th, 2016 | Received in revised form: August 04th, 2016 Accepted: August 28th, 2016 Abstract Cocoa mucilage, a by-product of cocoa beans processing, constitutes 10% of total cocoa beans, with soluble solids up to , pH of – , rich in sugar, minerals, organic acids and phenolic compounds. The aim of this research is to ferment cocoa bean mucilage to produce a beverage with alcohol concentration of . The fundamental microorganism for ethanolic fermentation is Saccharomyces cerevisiae with a density of 2x107cfu/ml in conjunction with 1% (w/v) of commercial fermentation powder product. The product of fermentation was assessed in terms of ethanol concentration, and optimum primary fermentation conditions were at the temperature of 28oC with the duration of 7 days. Secondary fermentation, which helped in stabilizing the quality of wine, occurred at 18oC for 30 days. The final product attribute is warm orange to bright rust in color, transparent, with a distinct aroma and sensory assessment according to TCVN 3215-79 and 3217 – 79 achiving a good score of . Therefore, it can be concluded that cocoa bean mucilage can be used for alcoholic beverage fermentation, contributing to diversifying processing products and increasing the application potentials for cocoa. Keywords: Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.); Mucilage; Wine. 1. INTRODUCTION The sustainable approach for growing of Cocoa trees by mono-cropping or intercropping with cashew trees is widely adopted in Highlands areas. Apart from Daklak, Lamdong is one of the provinces to have a policy aiming at increasing cocoa plantation, specifically in the districts of .
