Drying Characteristics of Cocoa Beans Using an Artificial Dryer

Artificial drying of cocoa beans has become imperative as a result of the drudgery and the spoilage of the beans when they are dried naturally viz-a-viz spreading the beans on a raised flat form to dry under the heat of the sun or using collector to collect the solar energy and use it to dry the beans. So, this study determined the drying characteristics of cocoa beans using artificial dryer and found that high dry rates are achieved when there is increase in drying air temperature and velocity.