Where Does Chocolate Come From?

The chocolate you enjoy today begins its life process as a little cacao bean. Cacao beans grow in pods on the cacao tree. More than 20 species of the cacao tree exist and they grow only within 20 degrees of the equator. Each tree thrives under the canopy of the rainforest.

For every two pounds of chocolate made, around 500 cacao beans are used. That means around 14 cacao pods are required to make two pounds of chocolate.

Cacao Producing Countries

The majority of the production of cacao is from the Ivory Coast, but a huge portion also comes from South America.

Today, the top cacao bean-producing countries include:

Ivory Coast
Indonesia
Nigeria
Ghana
Brazil
Malaysia
Ecuador
Cameroon
Dominican Republic

Characteristics of the Cacao Pod

The most abundant of all cacao tree species is the Theobroma cacao tree, which has to grow for three years before it sprouts cacao pods.

A cacao can produce about 2000 pods every year. The pod or fruit is ridged and resembles a miniature football. The pods grow from the branches that stick out of the tree’s trunk. The pods enclose a white sticky pulp with about 30 to 40 seeds inside. The white pulp is sweet and tart at the same time.

Seeds straight out from the pod will taste bitter when bitten. This feature of the plants is part of a perfect cycle: forest animals like to eat the fruit but they cast the seeds to the ground, allowing new seedlings to sprout and grow.

Harvesting and Processing the Cacao Beans

The cacao beans are harvested by cutting off the pods from the trees using large knives. The pods are collected and brought back to plantations. The pods are then broken open and, with their white pulp exposed, are spread out in racks. What follows is the most important stage in the whole process: the fermentation.

Fermentation

The beans that have been cut and spread out in racks or wooden bins are covered with banana leaves to start the fermentation process. The heat from the process of fermentation changes the pods bitter flavor into something that is closer to the chocolate taste we are familiar with.

The sugars present in the bean will turn into acid, the pale color changes into a darker shade of brown, and the sticky pulp dries out. The duration of the fermentation process will depend on the type of cacao beams. The higher the quality of the beans, the shorter the fermentation process. It usually ranges from a few days to a few weeks.

Drying

After fermentation is complete, the beans are sun-dried for up to a week. This will allow the flavor to develop all the more. Some producers will speed up the drying process by placing them over fire, giving them a smoked flavor.

Processing the Cacao Beans and Nibs

To achieve the chocolate taste everyone enjoys so much, the beans or the nibs have to be processed further.

Grinding

Grinding the cacao nibs will produce a thick chocolate paste, referred to as chocolate liquor. The paste will taste bitter, so to make it more palatable, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla, and milk are added to it. This is what gives the paste the chocolate flavor we all love, but the texture will not have a smooth finish at the end.

Conching

To achieve a smooth and shiny chocolate bar, the chocolate paste must undergo conching. Conching is a process wherein the chocolate is swirled to incorporate air. Additional cocoa butter and soy lecithin are mixed in during conching. This makes the chocolate much smoother. Conching may last for several hours up to an entire week. The conching process may be repeated a few times until the desired results are achieved.