3.2.3. Fat percentage

Cocoa butter is still generally the most valuable part of the bean and the potential yield of butter affects the price paid for a particular mark or grade of cocoa beans. 

Main crop cocoa from West Africa normally contains about 55-58% fat in the dry nib, with Ghanaian beans generally containing a higher percentage of fat than beans from either Côte d’Ivoire or Nigeria. 

Some typical values for a number of origins, expressed on a whole bean basis, are given in the table below (Pontillon, 1998). 

Pontillon notes that these values should be taken as indicative only, since the number of samples used to produce these figures varies for each origin and especially since fat percentages can vary considerably depending on factors such as the climate (seasonal and annual variations), geographic and genetic factors, and the methods used to extract the fat.