QUALITY EVALUATION OF PROCESSED PRODUCT (TABLEA) FROM CACAO BEANS (Theobroma cacao L. var. "UF 18") AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF FERMENTATION

This experiment was conducted at the College of Agriculture, Mindanao State University Campus, Fatima, General Santos City from June to July 2019. This was conducted to determine the effects of fermentation of cacao beans extracted from pods. Specifically, it aims to determine which period of fermentation is appropriate for tablea making and to determine the quality and acceptability of processed product of fermented cacao beans. A descriptive method of experiment was used in this study having four treatments as follows: T1 - Control (without fermentation); T2 - 3 days fermentation; T3 -5 days fermentation; T4 - 7 days fermentation. Based on the results of the sensory perception test, it appeared that fermentation periods had considerably affected the color and acceptability of tablea. But not so much impact on the texture, aroma, and taste, although generally in this study, fermentation irrespective of the period whether 3 days, 5 days or 7 days of fermentation has improved the overall quality of the tablea product compared to the unfermented cacao beans.