Bean to Bar Process
Chocolate Begins with Farmers!
Farmers grow the cacao that is made into the chocolate you eat.
The Theobroma cacao trees grow for approximately 3-5 years before they bear fruit “pods”.
The pods are removed from the trees by hand, collected and then split open to remove their seeds.
The seed are collected in containers and moved to a location where they can be fermented. Fermentation takes place over the course of 5-7 days. Temperature and humidity are constantly monitored.
When the beans are finished fermenting they are removed from the fermentation boxes and the final drying process begins.
After drying they are packaged in bags and prepared for shipment. This valuable commodity is watched closely by family members.
The cacao beans arrive at Tabal Chocolate
- We sort through the cacao beans removing any unwanted beans or extra materials.
- We roast them
- We crack and winnow
- We stone grind for 2-3 days
- We conch or aerate the chocolate to enrich the flavor
- We temper the chocolate to create the shine and snap in the crystals
- We pour the chocolate into molds, cool the chocolate
Chocolate Making from Bean to Bar
