• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

A Little Luxury For Me

Chocolate Making

July 9, 2014 by Erica Hughes 4 Comments

home of chocolate making

The Grenada Chocolate Company

Earlier this year we visited The Grenada Chocolate Company and had a tour of the cocoa making process that produces the key ingredient for chocolate making.  I’d really recommend a visit to the chocolate company if you are lucky enough to be visiting Grenada.  They run regular tours, you’ll get to try some of the chocolate and there’s an opportunity to buy some too in their onsite shop.

Fermenting or Sweating

The first step in the processing of cocoa is the fermentation of the fresh beans.  Once removed from the pods, the beans are fermented for 5-9 days in large wooden bins that are covered with banana leaves and jute bags.

freshly harvested cocoa

Freshly Harvested Cocoa

The cocoa beans themselves are surrounded by a white sweet pulp.  The fermentation process begins when yeast converts the sugars in the pulp to alcohol and carbon dioxide.  Bacteria oxidize the alcohol into lactic acid and acetic acid.  During this process the white pulp liquefies, the bitterness subsides whilst flavour and colour develop.

Fermentation generate temperatures as high as 45 degrees centigrade and activates enzymes that exist within the beans.  These enzymes act to enable chemical reactions that produce the compounds that provide the chocolate flavour for the beans when they are roasted.

fermentation bin for cocoa beans

Fermentation Bin for Cocoa Beans

Cocoa beans are turned from one bin to another every two days to increase oxygenation and to ensure an even fermentation.  The end result is a fully fermented bean with a rich brown colour.  This rich brown colour is a sign that the cocoa is now ready for drying.

Drying

drying rack for cocoa beans

Drying Rack

Fermented beans must be dried to preserve them.  They are placed on wooden trays with wheels or in sliding racks to dry in the sun.  this process takes approximately 5-7 days.  The cocoa farmer walk through the beans regularly to maximise their exposure to the sunshine and the air, plus this quickens the drying process.  During that time, any defective or germinating beans are removed.  If it rains the trays can be pushed under cover.  Properly dried beans crackle when rubbed together in your hands.

Drying reduces the moisture content of the beans from around 60% to just 7.5%.  The process must be carried out carefully to ensure that undesirable flavours do not develop, for example this can happen if the beans are dried too quickly or too slowly.

Cocoa Beans

Dried Cocoa Beans

Grinding

The beans are ground up and after that the process varies depending on the product being produced.  The beans can be used to make cocoa butter, cocoa powder or used in chocolate making.

Share
Tweet
Pin

Filed Under: Food

Previous Post: « nspa Beauty Rituals
Next Post: Summer Fusions From Hotel Chocolat Giveaway »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carly says

    July 11, 2014 at 9:50 am

    Wow, this looks amazing and definitely right up my street! I’ve been to a couple of Caribbean Islands over the years but have never done a chocolate making tour. #PoCoLo

    Reply
  2. Merlinda Little (@pixiedusk) says

    July 11, 2014 at 2:21 pm

    I can already smell the beans! The strong chocolatey taste! Thanks for sharing =) #PoCoLo

    Reply
  3. Alison says

    July 17, 2014 at 8:53 am

    I didn’t realise cocoa beans looked like that. It looks like a really fascinating day out

    Reply
  4. Anne Wallwin says

    August 2, 2014 at 9:45 pm

    how interesting! i never knew how much work went into making it.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

About Me

ericaI’m Erica Hughes: interested in beauty products as well as being a keen foodie and amateur cook. I write here about my passions in life including good food, fine wine, beauty plus all the little luxuries that make life worthwhile.

  • Bloglovin
  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

About/Contact

PR/Advertising

Privacy Policy

Categories

  • Competition
  • Cooking
  • Drink
  • Family
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Gadgets
  • General
  • Gifts
  • Health
  • Home
  • Hotel
  • Music
  • Pampering
  • Plants and Gardening
  • Restaurant
  • Silent Sunday
  • Sports
  • travel

Copyright © 2022 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress