From Beans to Chocolate

Target Language or Knowledge:

Making chocolate from the fermented, dried beans is a very long and complicated process. Chocolate makers blend different varieties of beans to make sure the chocolate has just the right flavor. The cleaned and blended beans are roasted in order to bring out the chocolate flavor. The beans pass through a special machine that cracks their shells and blows away the pieces of shells with fans. After the shells are removed only the meaty part of the bean, called the nib, remains. The nibs are ground up and crushed until they become a liquid. The liquid is poured into molds. In the molds it cools into bars of bitter, unsweetened chocolate. The bars are then pressed, until the cocoa butter is removed. The cocoa butter drains through a screen and is collected. The solid part of the bar is ground into a powder. Cocoa powder is sent to dairies and bakeries. The final step is called conching. Conching takes place in machines with big rollers. Ingredients are placed in the machines and rolled and mixed until smooth. The smooth mixture is poured into molds and cooled. After it has cooled the chocolate is removed and wrapped in packages for shipping.

chocolate long complicated different varieties beans cleaned blended roasted cracks shells blows away meaty nib nibs ground crushed liquid liquid molds bars bitter chocolate pressed cocoa butter cocoa butter screen collected solid ground powder dairies bakeries conching big rollers Ingredients rolled mixed smooth smooth molds removed wrapped shipping