Overview of Chocolate Processing

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Overview of Chocolate Processing

• Blue Heron Middle School
• October 2, 2012

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How Cocoa Is Grown

• Cocoa pods grow on a tree
• Grown 15 degrees north or south of equator
• A delicate crop, bears fruit in fifth year
• A tree can live 25 years or more

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Cocoa Pods

• Rough, leather-like husk weighing over 2 pounds
• Filled with 3050 seeds called cocoa beans
• Seeds contain a sweet pulp
• Pulp is half cocoa butter and half cocoa solids

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Picking and Fermenting

• Beans are extracted by farmers
• Harvesting occurs a few times a year
• Beans are fermented under piles of banana leaves
• Fermenting takes five days
• Beans are dried in the sun on bamboo mats

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Distributing

• Dried beans are sold to agents who sell to
  wholesalers
• Most are used to produce chocolate confections
• Some cocoa butter is used in cosmetics

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Making Cocoa Powder

• Beans are roasted in cylinders
• Inside of bean (nib) ground into cocoa mass
• Cocoa butter pressed out of the cocoa mass
• Cocoa powder remains

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Producing Chocolate

• Other ingredients are added sugar, milk, etc.
• Heavy rollers swirl mixture (conching)
• Mixture is heated, cooled, and then heated
  (tempering)
• Chocolate is poured into molds
• Used to make candies such as chocolate
  surrounding caramel (enrobing)

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For More Information Visit Our Website

• www.emcp.net/TheChocolateMuseum