1. The beans are left to ferment on chests or in large piles on the ground, and are covered over with banana leaves. Yeast and bacteria now go to work, removing the sugar by converting it first to alcohol and carbon dioxide, and then to acetic acid. This process takes between 2 and 9 days, depending on the type of bean. The beans are continually turned over to ensure that they ferment evenly. The end result of this process is a bean loosened from its pulp, devoid of its ability to germinate, and full of color and flavour.

2. Next, the beans are dried. They are placed on bamboo or wooden mats or and exposed to the hot sun for roughly two weeks. The beans are continually turned over to ensure even drying. Before the beans can be shipped, they must be packed into sacks; then they are stored, branded and numbered.

3. Before chocolate can be made, the beans must be processed into the raw ingredients needed for mixing chocolate: cocoa mass, cocoa butter, and cocoa powder. First, the beans are mixed to achieve the desired balance and taste. Beans from various places have different properties. 

4. Next, the beans are cleaned and de-dusted to make sure they are perfectly pure. They are passed through a sieve and a metal detector to thoroughly ensure their purity.

5. Roasting the cocoa bean is a critical step, with time and temperature the most important elements. The roasting process determines the desired cocoa aroma. The shell of the bean comes loose from the kernel during roasting and the heat of roasting removes any bacteria in the bean. 

6. After the shells are loosened, the beans are hurled against large crushing plates that separate the shells from the kernels The beans are then sieved and the fragments blown through wind channels, where the upward flow of air winnows the shells from the kernels.

7. Now that the kernels have been separated from the shells, the kernels pass through two types of mills. First they enter the pin mills, where they are roughly ground. Then they enter the ball mills, where they are very finely ground, producing cocoa mass. 

8. The cocoa mass is stored in underground tanks, where it is pumped to various production lines. When the mass is brought under high pressure, we obtain cocoa butter and cocoa powder. 

9. Before chocolate can be produced, the batter, a mixture of various the raw materials mixed and kneaded into smooth dough, must be prepared. To ensure that the chocolate is as smooth as possible, the batter is finely rolled. Sending the batter through tightly pressed steel cylinders finely crushes the cocoa particles and sugar crystals, resulting in granule free batter. This process ultimately determines the smoothness of the chocolate. 

10. The next step in the production of chocolate is conching. Conching the chocolate requires the use of a large kneading machine that also chafes, heats and aerates the batter, creating the final aroma of the chocolate. After adding lecithin and cocoa butter to the batter, the chocolate is stored in tanks, awaiting its final destination.

11. Before the liquid chocolate can be molded, it must be tempered. Tempering chocolate involves bringing the chocolate to just the right temperature, where the cocoa butter reaches its most stable crystal form. The result? A shiny and hard chocolate, perfect for molding.

The processing of the cacao seeds, better known as cocoa beans, is complex. The fruit is cured or fermented in a pulpy state for 3 to 9 days, during which the heat kills the seeds and turns them brown. The enzymes activated by fermentation impart the substances that will give the beans their chocolate flavour later during roasting. The beans are then dried in the sun and cleaned in special machines before they are roasted to bring out the chocolate flavour. They are then shelled in a crushing machine and ground into chocolate. During the grinding, the fat melts, producing a sticky liquid called chocolate liquor, which is the primary ingredient in all forms of chocolate (except white). The liquor is used to make chocolate candy or is filtered to remove the fat and then cooled and ground to produce cocoa powder.

The invention of the cocoa butter extractor Cocoa beans consist of up to 54% cocoa butter which until well into the 16th century was extracted by boiling the beans and skimming the fat off the surface of the water. In 1828 C.J van Houten developed the cocoa butter extractor, this is a hydraulic mechanism consisting of up to 24 horizontally arranged extrusion chambers ( billets ), these are filled with cocoa paste, heated to 80-90 0 c, pressured applied and out flows the cocoa butter, which is the filtered cooled and stored. The cocoa press cake that is left is pounded and pulverized for cocoa powder production, depending on how fine it is ground this can be used for a number of things like chocolate icing, milk products, ice cream and cake mixes. Cocoa butter is one of the most expensive and long lasting fats. Its neutral taste, low melting temperature make it an interesting product for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

The cacao tree is a tropical American tree commonly found in wet, lowland areas. Today, cacao trees are found in the Caribbean, Asia, Africa and the South Pacific Islands. Cacao trees are sensitive and cannot be exposed to much sunlight or wind. Therefore, the cacao flourishes in the shade of much taller surrounding trees. Cocao trees rise some 40-feet high and contain 1-foot long leaves. Small, pink flowers dot the leaves and trunk of the tree. Hand-sized pods or fruit hang from various areas of the tree and trunk. Each pod contains 25-50 seeds, which are known as cocoa beans. Mature trees bear 50-70 fruits each year. Cocoa beans are harvested twice a year. During the harvesting process, the fruit is cut from the tree and split open with a large ax. The beans and pulp are then removed from the pod and placed in holes in the ground or shallow boxes, where they will begin a process of fermenting. Common grade pulp ferments for a period of 5-7 days, during which time workers frequently turn and mix the beans and pulp. Flavor development begins during the fermentation process. As the beans take on moisture, they expand, turn a brownish-red color, and take on a sharp fragrance. Once fermenting has finished, beans are sun or kiln dried and bagged. The bags of beans are now shipped to a cleaning factory. The bagged beans are now subjected to several methods of cleaning to remove contaminants. Twigs, rocks, dust and other debris are separated from the beans. Once cleaned, beans are weighed and blended with different types of beans. Specific mixtures of beans are used when making items such as candy bars, cocoa mix and cocoa butter. Clean beans are roasted to enhance flavor, reduce acidity and lower their moisture content. Roasting also detaches the shell from the bean and deepens the color. Roasting can last from 30-minutes to 2-hours, depending on the variety of bean. During the winnowing process, beans are removed from their thin shells with cracking machines and then separated by means of a high speed fan. The "nibs" of the bean, which are made of 53-percent cocoa butter are then conveyed to mills, where they will be crushed. Using large grinding stones or steel discs, friction and heat liquefies the cocoa butter and forms chocolate liquor. Liquor is poured into molds, where it sits until it has hardened.