Chocolate Production

The process of chocolate production and processing occurs through several stages. below we look at the process involved making this wonderful snack.

1 - Harvesting cocoa pods

The harvesting of cocoa pods can only be done manually, because the pods grow from tree trunks and it would be hard to manoeuvre a machine without ruining the pods and the cocoa flowers. The pods are then opened to extract the seeds, which are then fermented from three to nine days. After fermentation, the seeds are dried, placed in sacks and shipped overseas to the places where chocolate production will take place.

2 – Manufacturing cocoa powder and chocolate

Cleaning cocoa seeds - Once in the factory, cocoa seeds are sorted according to type and country of origin and then cleaned by a cleaning machine that removes any debris from the seeds’ surface.

Roasting cocoa seeds – after having been cleaned, cocoa seeds are roasted in large rotary cylinders, in order to bring out their typical aroma.

Cracking, fanning and winnowing the cocoa seeds – Once roasted, cocoa seeds’ shells become brittle and easy to remove. This happens in a machine that cracks the shell; giant fans then blow away the pieces of shell. The inside of the seeds, in this process, has also been cracked and reduced to bits, called nibs. These nibs are then sorted through sieves, during a process called winnowing.

Grinding the cocoa nibs – cocoa nibs are made up by cocoa butter (53%) and cocoa solids (47%). Cocoa nibs are placed in a machine that grinds them with huge steel rolls; this process liquefies the nibs and produces chocolate liquor.

Pressing the chocolate liquor – some of the chocolate liquor is then pressed in another machine, in order to separate cocoa butter from cocoa solids. Cocoa butter is then used for making chocolate, but also for other purposes, such as cosmetic production. Cocoa solids are pulverised to make cocoa powder.

Mixing the chocolate liquor – the remaining chocolate liquor is then mixed with extra cocoa butter, milk and sugar. The extra cocoa butter helps the chocolate keep solid at room temperature. The mixture of chocolate liquor, milk, sugar and cocoa butter is called chocolate crumb.

Refining the chocolate crumb – chocolate crumb must then be refined, by passing it through steel rolls, in order to make chocolate fine and smooth and eliminate any grains.

Conching the chocolate – a machine with a heavy roller blends the refined chocolate mixture. This process, which can last up to six days, aerates the paste, to give chocolate a smoother, silky texture and mellower flavour.

Tempering the chocolate – chocolate is then tempered, which means it is repeatedly warmed and cooled, in order to ensure it will melt properly.

Moulding the chocolate – tempered chocolate is then squeezed into moulds to give it different shapes. Chocolate is then wrapped and packed by machines.

Thank you for reading about chocolate production on Chocolate-cioccolata.com. You can also read our articles about Making Chocolate.