Cocoa and chocolates Processing and manufacturing

The square of chocolate that accompanies your coffee, the chocolate you give your child for a snack, the wafer shared with family or friends - all these moments are synonymous with pleasure and well-being, enhanced by the magic of chocolate. What's the secret behind its manufacture?

Whatever the form in which chocolate is consumed, the process that leads from the fruit to the finished product is often overlooked. The quality of the final product depends largely on the characteristics of the raw material used. Chocolate quality and cocoa quality are closely linked.

The cocoa chain is a long one, involving many trades and technologies. At one end of the chain are the producers, most of whom are small-scale planters scattered throughout the world's humid tropics. At the other end are the consumers of the various chocolates and chocolate products, mostly located in temperate countries. In between, there are numerous techniques for transforming post-harvest cocoa into chocolate.

One of the first stages is cocoa fermentation. The manipulations involved in fermentation mainly concern the control of cocoa aeration and the biochemical phenomena that take place there; this stage will be decisive for the development of aroma precursors.

Merchantable cocoa then undergoes a multitude of technological transformations to arrive at the finished product: chocolate.

The varietal impact is decisive for the chocolatier in offering his customers a wide range of flavors. White, dark or milk, chocolate has therapeutic virtues and takes us on a journey around the world. The aim of this article is to present the different stages in the industrial process of the cocoa and chocolate industry.