Effects of Different Drying Methods on Drying Time and Color of Non-fermented Cocoa Beans (Theobroma Cocoa L.)

Non-fermented cocoa beans are a type of cocoa bean that is processed without undergoing the fermentation process to preserve vital compounds such as polyphenols. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the drying temperature on the drying time and color of cocoa beans. Non-fermented cocoa beans were dried using hot-air, heat-pump, and greenhouse methods. The results indicated that higher temperatures in hot-air and heat-pump drying led to shorter drying times. In the heat-pump dryer, cocoa beans dried at 40 °C, 45 °C, and 50 °C had significantly shorter drying times (40, 24, and 15 h) compared to the hot-air dryer (48, 44, and 38 h). In greenhouse drying, cocoa beans reached 6.3% moisture in about 28 h. All samples showed a consistent decrease in brightness and redness in their color. Notably, the cocoa beans dried at 50 °C using hot-air and heat-pump dryers demonstrated the smallest color difference (ΔE) compared to fresh cocoa beans, while the greenhouse-dried sample had the highest ΔE value.