Individual variation in the amino acid and chemical composition of defatted cocoa bean meal of three varieties of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) from south‐eastern Nigeria

Abstract Cocoa in the world market is the ripened bean of the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao L) that has been properly fermented and dried. A number of varieties are found such as Amelonado and F3Amazon which are considered ‘bulk’ cocoas by the FAO. Chocolate produced by these cocoas does not, possess the additional flavours associated with the ‘finey’ types such as Trinitario and Criollo. Literature exists on the composition of cocoa bean meal but the work reported has been on bulk samples received by chocolate manufacturers or found in warehouses. These are beans harvested from several trees and of varied and unknown species growing in different localities. Therefore differences due to environmental and varietal factors will be masked. This work, which was carried out on cocoas from south‐eastern Nigeria, is aimed at highlighting the variation in composition (if any)of the cocoa bean between (a)individual species, (b) individual trees of each species planted at the same time and in the same geographical area, (c) individual trees of the same species, planted in the same area but having an age difference of some ten years.