Harvest

The main harvesting season is just before the rain season, but harvesting can be done year-round. The fruits are cut from the tree using long poles or simply collected from the ground. After being hacked open, the seeds are soaked to remove the white skin, revealing their vibrant colors ranging from red to pink to white. The kola nuts are then dried in the shade and can be stored for months. Further drying is only necessary for export.

Collecting and Cleaning

The kola nut tree bears fruit year-round, but the harvesting time depends on the region. In Ghana, the main harvest begins in November and lasts until February, just before the rainy season, which runs from late March to June.

To harvest the fruits, poles about 3.5 meters long with curved blades are used to cut them from the tree. Many fruits also fall to the ground naturally and can be easily collected. The collected fruits are then hacked open with large knives or machetes to extract the seeds, which are the actual kola nuts.

In the village, the seeds are soaked in water in a large bowl for about 15 minutes. This helps to easily remove the white skin that still adheres to the seeds. After soaking, the kola nuts appear in various colors, from red to pink to white. In this state, they can already be consumed but are not yet suitable for storage.

Fresh Kola Nuts for Africa

To make the nuts storable, another step follows, called curing: The kola nuts are placed in baskets and stored in the shade for a few days. They are regularly stirred, and damaged nuts are sorted out. This gently reduces the water content of the seeds. The delicate surface of the peeled seeds becomes somewhat more resistant. Afterward, the kola nuts can often be stored for months under good conditions without losing quality. This is the state in which fresh kola nuts are traded and consumed throughout Africa. Further drying is traditionally not common.

Dried Kola Nuts for Food Production

Only for export to Europe and use in the food industry is it necessary to completely dry the kola nuts. Since the export share is small compared to the African consumption of fresh kola nuts, it plays a minor and often unknown role.