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 cacao seeds are removed while they are wet and still covered in their sweet pulp.
The seeds 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.
Colombian cacao heading to the Colombian airport, to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and Tabal Chocolate.
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
Please enjoy these educational videos which are courtesy of UncommonCacao
CACAO FARMING
CACAO FERMENTATION
CACAO DRYING
QUALITY CONTROL OF CACAO
We hand wrap each bar
VIDEO SUMMARY of the bean to bar process -
We share the chocolate so others can enjoy and also share.