Making Chocolate

Many steps are involved in bringing raw cacao to the consumer in the chocolate form we all know and love.

First, ripe pods are identified and cut from the tree. Not all pods ripen at the same pace, and unlike an apple tree that has all of its fruit taken at the same time, some cacao pods will be left on the tree while others are harvested. The pods are cut open with a machete and the beans are extracted and separated from the moist pulp. The beans are then fermented. Farmers put the beans in wooden boxes and cover the boxes some of the natural bitterness and the beans start to release the familiar chocolate aroma.

The fermented beans are then sun dried, although they can be dried indoors if weather conditions are not favorable outside. The beans take several days to dry completely. Once dry, the beans are ready for sale with a mix of varietals from different farms around the world, although many single-origin chocolates are now being manufactured.

Once at a chocolate manufacturing facility, the cacao beans are first roasted. The shells become brittle and more moisture is removed. A winnowing machine cracks the beans open and the shells are removed leaving only the nibs. The nibs consist of cocoa butter and pure cocoa. The nibs are ground and the result is chocolate liquor, or liquid chocolate (liquor does not refer to any alcoholic content). The chocolate liquor is pressed to extract the cocoa butter. Some is reserved to be added back later in the chocolate making process and some cocoa butter is sold off for cooking and skin-care products. After being pressed and having the cocoa butter removed, the cocoa is in a hard cake form that is ground to make cocoa powder. Again much of this is sold to be made into hot chocolate and for cooking and baking purposes. Many chocolate companies "Dutch Process" the cocoa treating the pure cocoa powder with an alkali to tone down the flavor and make the powder easier to mix with water.

At this point, chocolate as we know it begins to be made. Cocoa butter is reintroduced to make the chocolate easier to work with. Sugar and vanilla are added for taste. In the case of milk chocolate, less unsweetened chocolate is used and milk is added. This mixture is then pressed and refined to a smooth consistency. Now the chocolate can be conched, quite possibly the most crucial step in the chocolate making process. Conching raises the temperature of the chocolate and mixes all the ingredients. Some companies conch their chocolate for a few hours, others take several days to a week before the final product is ready for sale. Conching brings about a silky smooth texture and flavor. Once fully conched, the chocolate is tempered,carefully cooled, and poured into molds. The molds may be retail bar size or in large 10 pound bars for chocolatiers, such as Choc-Alot.

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