CHOCOLATOLOGY

HOW CHOCOLATE

IS MADE

Varieties of Cocoa BeansBean Flavor Pod qnd Tree Origin % of

World’s crop

Criollo Rich and intense, has the widest range of flavors

Soft skinned, reddish color, smaller variety treesDelicate highly prized beans

South America 1%

Forastero Soft beans with a pungent aroma. Usually the base bean

Pod-thick skinned with red-yellow colorTrees are hearty produce a large quantity

West Africa 80%

Varieties of Cocoa BeansBean Flavor Pod qnd

TreeOrigin % of World’s

crop

Trinitario Fine flavored, exhibits Criollo and ForasteroCharacteristics

Hearty withstands infestation well. Small yellow pods,

Trinidad 15%

Arriba/ Nacional

Full smooth cocoa flavor with additional floral and nutty notes

Large green wrinkled pods, beans are large and purple

Ecuador 4%

Where is it grown• Cocoa Trees are grown between 20º North

and 20º south of the Equator in tropical areas with high rainfall

• Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia Brazil and Nigeria are the leading cocoa producing countries

• 90% of the world’s cocoa is grown by smallholders of 50 acres are less which they own or rent

The Cocoa Tree Important factor such as climate , soil

conditions sun and shade all effect on the cocoa beans.

This allows certain flavors to come more to the forefront such as bitterness, fruitiness and bouquet

They are often planted with mature banana tree to give the young plants the needed protection

Cocoa Trees are planted from 1500- 3000 trees per acre and take 2-3 years to get a

first harvest

Trees remain viable for 25-30 years

The Pods start from fragrance free orchid flowers, and develop into pods about 25-30

per tree, weighing in at about 2.5 lbs.

This will occur twice a year

Step : Chocolate pods are harvested and the beans and pulp is removed.

As the cocoa pods ripen they turn from green to red or yellowish in color, they are harvested by hand using a machete

There are about 35-50 beans covered in a sweet pulpy substance inside the pod

Yield are about 132-2,200 pounds per acre

Step : Fermentation and Drying Fermentation is done at the cocoa plantations,

this creates a dry stable, non perishable product The pods are cracked open and the insides are

scooped out and heaped into piles and placed in wooden boxes

They are covered with leaves. It usually lasts 5-7 days. This brings out favorable flavor characteristics

During fermentation the sugar based pulp breaks down, through stirring and draining these piles

Drying

Fermentation needs to be physically halted this is done by drying. If we don’t the cocoa beans will mold and rot due to the high moisture content

There are two methods Natural drying the beans are spread out to 4”

layers for a week in the open air. The natural sunlight will reduce acetic acid content.

This will also brown the beans and reduce moisture content to7-8%

Drying

Artificial Drying, this is only a solution in some cases.

It dries the beans too quickly and create too acidic beans

Step : Bagging and Shipping

After drying cocoa beans are bagged

into 60-70 kilograms bags

They are shipped out to the chocolate

manufactures

The manufacture will mix different beans to achieve the flavor profile they desire

The Chocolate Factory

Once the beans arrive in the factory they are inspected and tested. The samples need to free of pests and molds .

They are tested to see if they past the chocolate manufacture’s strict quality control.

The samples are tested for uniform size, color, shape, volume fermentation and pH level.

In the Factory

Cleaning• They are passed through sieves

and brushing. This removes wood, sand and fibers

Debacterization a short intense steam treatment (446º) is done just before

roasting, to remove unwanted organisms

Roasting

Beans are heated to 230-428º depending on the type of bean

This will:Develop flavor profileReduce unfavorable components such as

moisture and acidUpgrade the quality of the cocoaLoosen shells for easy removalImprove the grindability of the nibs

3 different types of Roasting

Whole bean- done in batches. Through whole bean roasting valuable and irreplaceable flavor components in the cocoa beans are preserved

Nib Toasting- the shell is discarded to save time , but the flavors from the shell are lost

Mass/ Liquor Roasting- dries the beans , raw nibs are ground into a paste and the cocoa butter is set free, resulting in a liquid that contains the fat free solid material distributed in cocoa butter. This is roasted for a very short time. This is quick way to process, but little flavor is developed

Different Kinds of Roasters Continuous Air Roasters-used for whole

bean and nib roasting

Batch Roasters- for nib roasting and tumbling bin is used to

Thin-film roasters-raw liquor roasting. Roasting occurs over a hot surface that dispenses hot air

Step : Shelling and Winnowing

Proper removal of the chocolate shell is a legal requirement and one to insure a quality product

This can be done one of three ways Air roasting-this makes the shell brittle and easy

to break Puffing- The beans are wetted with steam and

when the steam evaporates the shell separates Infrared-Plates are heated to 2000º creates

steam and the shell separates. An advantage is the reduction of unwanted bacteria through this method

Winnowing

The roasted shelled beans are passes through a series of husking screens in

three stages

Each of the these stages has a different size mesh screen to remove unwanted

shell fragments

Step - Blending and Grinding

Before grinding the beans are blended together per the chocolate producer’s unique recipe

Now the nibs (or interior of the beans) are grind down to a point where the cell stuctures of the nibs are destroyed

Step - Mixing

The following ingredients are added to the chocolate : Mass Sugar Dry milk powder( for milk and white

chocolate) Vanillin ( if pure vanilla is used it will be

added at the conching stage

Step : Rolling

This is done in two steps Step one is done through two rollers after the

first step the particle size is 120 microns (I micron= 1/1000 millimeter)

Step This is done through a series of 5 rollers to reduce the particle size to 20 microns

The Mouth cannot detect a particle size below 25 microns. This insures the product will melt in your mouth

Step -Conching

Conching affects three major characteristics of the final couverture Flavor- reduces moisture and undesirable

volatiles

Flow- covers solid microns with a this film of cocoa butter

Texture-forms a fine chocolate

Phases of Couching 1. Dry Conching- The chocolate mass flows

from the rolling process and moves at a slow rotation speed reducing moisture

2. Plasticizing- The speed is increase to high, cocoa butter is added, temperature increases and the chocolate flavor begins to form

3. Liquid Conching- the rotation speed is set in reverse and lecithin (emulsifier) residual cocoa butter and pure vanilla are added. The conch begins to cool

Step -Tempering

Tempering will give

the finished couverture:

Desirable brittle

texture that snaps when

broken

Satin sheen with a

absence of spots

Sufficient contraction

High melting sensation

Less sensitive to temperature

changes, this equates a good shelf

life

Temper, temper….

Tempering machines alternatively heat and cool the couverture while continuously mixing it

Agitation is generally done with a rotary wheel or blade within the a tank

The chocolate is tempered in batches

Step -Molding/piping

The tempered chocolate mass is molded into

bars or pistoles by machine

The molds are passed

along a vibrating belt to settle the

chocolate and to remove

any air bubbles

Then they are cooled the

cooling process is critical to the shine and shelf

life of the finished product

Cooling in Three Stages

The are cooled by air the first stage cools the couverture to 87º and the formation of stable cocoa butter crystals are ensured

The second stage drops the couverture to 50-55º to speed the solidifying process

The third stage brings the temperature of the couverture to 68º in preparation for warmer storage temperatures

Step -PackagingThe couverture is carefully packaged in a way that will protect the product from light, heat and humidity

Couverture should be stored no longer than 18 months at 65º and at about 40% humidity

Source:Des Alpes Methodology-2006 Albert Uster Imports