How is chocolate is made: all stages of chocolate processing up to the production of bars, pralines, and chocolate candy.

Before arriving on our table, chocolate makes a very long journey, starting from the plantations and ending up in the packages we buy and take home. This article will reveal chocolate's production in all its phases and secrets, starting from its place in the earth: the cocoa plant.

What is the difference between ordinary chocolate and good chocolate?

It is not always easy to recognize good chocolate. To produce high-quality chocolate, it is certainly necessary to have high quality sourced cocoa, grown, harvested, and treated in a workmanlike manner. Unsuccessful chocolate processing, due to faulty or old machinery, imperfect roasting and much more, can negatively affect the final result of the chocolate.

The real key is to pay attention to every step of the chocolate production process and choose high-quality cocoa. It is only through this manner Cioccolatitaliani prides itself in only using this process in order to create the highest quality sweets and ice creams.

From the cocoa plant to the beans, the first step towards chocolate

To grow luxuriantly, the cocoa tree needs a semi-shaded environment, with 50% light and 50% shade. Therefore, very often in the cocoa plantations, you will see very tall trees, right next to the cocoa plants, so that their foliage can give them the necessary amount of shade and not deprive them of light.

Harvesting of cocoa fruits

A cocoa plant's average life span is 25 years, and its fruits require between 150 and 165 days for complete maturation. There is no real ripening season. Hand harvesting can happen all year round. Each cocoa fruit contains 20 to 50 cocoa beans of varying length and thickness. It is estimated that each cocoa tree produces about 1 kg of cocoa per year, but also, in this case, as for cultivation, each type of cocoa plant has its own growth and maturation times.

The fermentation of cocoa beans

The first crucial step in chocolate production is the fermentation of the cocoa beans. It is the fermentation that gives the aromas to the cocoa, and to the chocolate. Fermentation will create those unmistakable flavors that will lead to the distinction between the various types of cocoa. After separating the white jelly from the beans, the latter are placed in containers within dark and ventilated rooms undergoing regular stirring. Again, the timing of the fermentation of the cocoa beans varies depending on the type of cocoa tree. However, we can estimate it to be an average between 4 and 7 days and has the purpose of making the seed inactive and not allowing it to germinate.

Drying of cocoa beans

Following fermentation, the cocoa beans are subjected to drying. It is a procedure whose purpose is to stop fermentation and decrease the humidity and acetic acid (great enemy of chocolate from a gustatory point of view) inside the beans. The drying lasts 3 to 4 days and usually through a natural process. A mechanical method uses machines to bring the cocoa beans to 8% moisture in less time: an optimal percentage that allows the beans to be transported.

After drying, the beans need to be cleaned. They are placed in a cylinder machine that removes dust and any other impurities, losing approximately 50% of their weight at the end of the process.

The cocoa beans are now ready to be placed in the bags and shipped to be then transformed into chocolate!

From roasting to packaging, the real production of chocolate begins

Once the cocoa beans' processing phase is finished, the real production of chocolate begins, and is where the cocoa beans will become the most loved food by both adults and children.

Cleaning and roasting of cocoa beans

The first necessary step to take once the bag of cocoa beans arrives, is to clean them thoroughly with sieves and brushes. Immediately after the beans undergo roasting.

The roaster first dries the beans at a temperature of 100°C, and then they are roasted at a temperature that varies between 100°C and 160°C (again, depending on the type of cocoa). This is a fundamental phase in the production of chocolate, and quite arguably the most important. The aromas develop completely during the roasting phase. These aromas will characterize the flavor of the chocolate. Therefore, the roasting must be perfectly balanced. Excessive roasting would increase the bitterness of the beans. However, if they are not roasted long enough, the aromas will not develop, and the classic scent of chocolate will not be released.

Decortication of cocoa beans and grinding

After roasting, the cocoa beans' decortication separates the husks from the “naked” bean called grain.

Immediately after decortication, the grain ends up in a granite stone mill that crushes the grain and transforms it into a liquid; thus, cocoa butter is obtained, the main ingredient of chocolate made from 100% pure chocolate.

Refinement

Refining comes right after the grinding. The refinement reduces the size of grain particles from 100 to 20 microns thanks to their compression with a machine with steel cylinders.

Chocolate conching

The duration of chocolate conching is directly proportional to the quality of the chocolate. The poorer the chocolate's quality, the greater the conching hours, and vice versa. The conching phase is useful for the emulsion of chocolate, therefore, for the dispersion of the dry parts of cocoa and sugar, and the lowering of acidity. Indeed, chocolate may lose up to 80% of volatile substances during conching.

Chocolate tempering

The tempering phase lowers the temperature after conching to make the chocolate more homogeneous, not subject to temperature changes, less voluminous, and less opaque.

Chocolate modelling and packaging

Chocolate is finally ready to be put in molds and then placed onto a vibrating belt to eliminate any air bubbles inside. After placing the chocolate in the molds, it must be allowed to cool and solidify in order to make it crunchy. This phase is followed by packaging, which is also important because it prevents the air from accelerating the chocolate's deterioration inside.

Cioccolatitaliani only uses Cacao Fino de Aroma for its ice cream and confectionery, one of the world's finest. Everyone can follow the whole cocoa processing, from the bean to the chocolate bar, in each Cioccolatitaliani store. The chocolate is visible, ready to be tasted.