The Process

Roasting

Our team made two Bean-to-Bar creations. We made Dark Chocolate from Tanzania and Dominican cocoa beans. Our mix was 68% Tanzania and 32% Dominican. This made our Chocolate 65% Dark with 42.2% fat. Our second was Milk Chocolate made from a combination of beans from Madagascar, Vietnam, Dominican, and Valrhona.

The beans are roasted in a combi oven @224 F for 10 mins at 70% humidity, then the temperature is higher @239 F for 8 mins, and finally @298 F for 9 mins. The beans should reach an internal temperature of 266 F.

Cracking & Winnowing

Once the beans are roasted, they are cracked open to remove all the skins with a rolling pin. This allows the nibs to be exposed. Using a hair dryer, the bits of the hull is blown away leaving all the cocoa nibs behind.

Grinding & Conching

With the use of a Melanger, the cocoa nibs are ground down into fine particles with cocoa butter, vanilla beans, salt, and sugar. The machine works using friction from stones that heat up, the desired particle size is below 30 microns which makes the chocolate very smooth in texture.

Tempering

Tempering chocolate allows for a strong structure of our products. It manipulates the crystalline structure of the cocoa butter through agitation and temperature control. Tempering your chocolate also creates a shelf stable product that produces a "snap" when broken and eaten.

Molding

Molding the tempered chocolate is best done in polycarbonate molds. They come in many different shapes and sizes. For added design and creativity, cocoa butter can be used for coloring of the exterior.

Packaging

The final step is the most crucial for preserving your product. It also serves as your logo design for your product. Various packaging can include foils, paper boxes, labels, and stickers.