Cocoa to Chocolate
When chocolate is made it starts out as small bean, in a pod, on a tree, in the equatorial forest, they are growing there for around five to six months. Cocoa beans grow in warm tropical countries because the humid heat helps the pods to grow faster, short dry summers are the best thing for cocoa beans.
The cocoa beans are harvested and then covered to be fermented, fermenting is a chemical bacteria removal process. Cocoa beans need to be fermented because it removes the yeast which has been spread in the air by other plants. They are fermented for five to seven days.
After the fermenting process is over they are put down to dry for five to seven days. They are dried to reduce the moisture inside the beans. Drying the beans helps to cause the grinding process easier.
After the fermenting and drying process they are weighed at the collection centre to notify if they are good enough quality to be put in dute bags to be shipped to a cocoa factory to be processed. In the cocoa factory, the beans are collected, sorted and dried.
Next they are grounded into a fine substance called cocoa liquor. Cocoa liquor can be transformed into cocoa powder and cocoa butter. To make chocolate they add cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and sugar. It is mixed in a conching machine which gives the chocolate its smooth texture.
The chocolate is then moulded and shipped to supermarkets and other shops, that is how cocoa beans transform into delicious chocolate that can be found in all shapes and sizes.
By Grace Olliver
