From Bean to Bar

Cacao is a tropical fruit that grows 20 degrees north and south of the equator. High humidity and a lot of rain are the order of the day here – the ideal conditions for growing this popular fruit.

Not all cacao fruits are the same: the taste varies according to the region and the environment. Mosquitoes pollinate the small flowers. Despite the particular inflorescence of the cacao tree, about 10-50 flowers become a fruit. This process takes up to half a year. To detach the ripe fruit from the tree and open it up, farmers usually use garden shears and a machete. When the skin of the cacao fruit is broken, the sweet, white flesh containing purple or white cacao beans appears.

Fermentation is one of the most important production steps. This is because it determines how chocolate tastes later on. If the beans are under-fermented, little or no flavor is formed, whereas over-fermented chocolate is inedible – in the worst case, the beans even develop mold. For the process, the beans and their own pulp are placed in a wooden box. During fermentation, some of the cacao mucilage comes off. The heat, carbon dioxide and the yeast present in the environment convert the fructose into ethyl alcohol. After approx. 24 hours, the beans are turned several times – thus adding oxygen: The aerobic bacteria then finally convert the alcohol into acetic acids. The temperature continues to rise. At 45 – 50°C, the cacao bean loses its ability to germinate. After this step, the beans are unusable as seeds – but are all the more suitable for making chocolate. Gentle fermentation takes around 7 – 8 days.

Drying is another important step in the development of flavor. The cacao beans still feel sticky after the fermentation. In order to dry, the beans are spread out on close-meshed nets. During this process, they gradually lose temperature – thus stopping the fermentation. The beans are left to dry gently in the sun for 6 to 7 days. Continuous turning of the beans prevents mold growth and ensures that the beans lose liquid evenly. At the end of the drying period, the cacao beans have a humidity content of 6-7% – perfect conditions for storage and shipping.

As soon as the beans are dried, we talk about raw cacao. Packed in airtight bags, the beans are protected from humidity and insect damage. Packed in jute bags, the beans embark on their approx. 43-day journey by ship from Peru to Germany.

Once the beans have arrived, we start the chocolate production at Dos Estaciones. For this we sort the beans by hand according to size. During this step, we also sort out flat and broken beans, this is an important step to guarantee a uniform roasting.

We roast the beans in the oven on special perforated trays. Temperature, length of roasting and humidity play an important role in the roasting process. Before the actual production, we start testing in small quantities which roasting temperatures are suitable for the respective beans and products. For example, to emphasize the fruity notes of the cacao beans, a light roasting is preferred. For our drinking chocolate, on the other hand, we rely on a higher degree of roasting: this ensures that the chocolaty aroma continues to dominate despite the addition of milk and sugar.

To break up the beans, we place them in a hopper. The hopper then conveys the beans evenly onto a vibrating plate, which feeds the beans into a grinder. We use two adjustable blocks to control how coarse or fine the beans are crushed.

As the husk is difficult to grind, we separate it from the cacao beans in the next step. A so-called winnower separates the broken beans from the husk using a stream of air. The light husk is blown out, while the inside of the beans, the cacao nibs, fall into another container due to their heavier weight.

Zero-waste production is important to us: we use the cacao nibs to make chocolate, while we make our tea from the cacao shells, which is actually a by-product. With this recycling process we ensure that no food waste is produced. It would also be a pity, as the cacao shells contain many healthy minerals.

The Melanger is the most important machine in Bean to Bar production: The cacao nibs are ground in a drum with grindstones. The pressure and the heat generated by this process causes the cacao butter to escape and transform the beans into a paste, which we refine further with a little sugar and depending on the typ of chocolate whole milk powder, extra cacao butter etc. As the pressure of the grindstones decreases, the cacao mass conches – a process in which sugar crystals and the crushed beans are ground and bound to a size of about 20 microns. After around 80 hours, a smooth texture is obtained, unpleasant aromas disappear and the chocolaty taste develops.

The final step in the production involves tempering the chocolate: A technique in which cacao butter crystals are shaped by heating and melting (cooling). This means: with the help of a tempering machine, the chocolate heats up to around 45°C to dissolve all the crystals. The chocolate is then transported by a screw conveyor through a cool pipe to achieve the perfect temperature of 29 – 31°C. The cacao butter crystallizes and ensures a silky shine, crunch and longer shelf life. With this refinement, we can finally pour the bars into molds and let them cool.

If we have small quantities of chocolate, e.g. for new varieties, these are tempered by hand. To do this, we heat the chocolate in a bowl. When all the crystals have dissolved, we pour 2/3 of the mixture onto a stone plate and spread it until the temperature of the chocolate is 26 – 28 °C. Then add it back to the rest of the chocolate in the bowl and mix everything evenly. Then we hand-pour the chocolate into molds and leave to cool.

We lovingly hand-pack our craft chocolate bars in foil made from renewable raw materials and an FSC certified packaging.

Time to enjoy a little piece of Chazuta!