In West Africa the shea nuts crop season is from May to October
The shea butter production with the last crop nuts is from June to next
March
We produce and deliver all year long but the best period for prices is
from June to October because profusion of raw material. That's why we
ask our customers to plan deliveries for all the year; we can then
purchase and store shea nuts when the prices are the the best.
The unrefined shea butter - karite
Pure virgin raw shea butter produced with traditional methods without any
chemical treatment
Traditional shea butter processing method
- the nuts are sorted
- the nuts are hand washed
- the nuts are sun-dried
- the nuts are pounded with traditional wood pestles or a breaker
- the crushed nuts are roasted in large metal pots
- the roasted almonds are processed in a grinder to produce a brownish
paste
- the brownish paste is processed again between two granite stones
- the brownish paste is then hand mixed and kneaded during many hours
with addition of a small quantity of water. This produces a white/off-white thick foamy substance to obtain finally a whitish paste, the shea butter (This is the churning step we call ''barattage'')
or
- in some places the brownish paste is pressed/crushed with a machine
- the shea butter is added with some water in cauldrons
and heated: the
impurities fall down (This is purification step)
- the purified shea butter is decanted and filtered when poured in the
clean storage metal drums (This is filtration step). Traditional village shea butter production steps photos
No chemicals
or detergents use during all the processing
Usual average specification
These are average
specifications; they can change slighly depending the season and the
batch. The customers can manage their own analysis with a sample of the
shea butter.
No mineral oils
or any chemical in the
shea butter
| Fatty acid composition (in %) : |
Norms |
| C16:0 palmitic |
4.0 - 8.0 |
| C18:0 stearic |
36.0 - 50.0 |
| C18:1 oleic |
40.0 - 50.0 |
| C18:2 linoleic |
4.0 - 8.0 |
Insaponifiable matter 5% Min
Impurities: less than 2%
| Characteristics |
Methods |
Norms |
| 5 1/4 Inch cell lovibond |
NEN 6310 - NEN 6308 |
- |
| Density at 40�C |
PEE 2002 2.2.5 |
0.900 - 0.930 g/cm3 |
| Acid value |
PEE 2002 2.5.1 |
Less than 2% * |
| Iodine value |
PEE 2002 2.5.4 |
58
- 72 |
| Refractive index (N40D) |
PEE 2002 2.2.2 |
1.460 - 1.470 |
| Peroxide value |
PEE 2002 2.5.5 |
Max. 3.0 m�q O2/kg |
| Moisture value |
AOCS CA 2E-84 |
Max. 2% |
| Slip point |
|
30�C - 42�C |
* depends of the season; Maximum: 4-7%
Colour of raw virgin shea butter.
Depending the season, the shea nuts
origin and the roasting the color can change. Above three colours for same quality raw
virgin shea butter.
Packing usual examples
180-190 kg net metal drums
25 kg (55 lbs) plastic cans
Packing in 180 or 1/90 kg net metal drums or as buyer requirement.
Metal drums are useful
because many importers use electric pallets to heat the drums before to
empty them.
Packing in 25kg plastic cans + carton for airway deliveries
Packing in 25kg plastic can + parton for postal deliveries
Usual minimum order and shipping
- container deliveries: one container loads 80-100 x180 kg net drums
- airway deliveries starting 100kg
- postal deliveries by 25kg
Samples
Ask the exporters
Shea tree nuts
We export also any quantity of almonds of Shea tree. Deliveries for yearly
crop starts on July to Abidjan port.18 or 38 metric tons containers
available with 80 kg PP or jute bags packaging. Possibility of
annual deliveries contracts. More |
