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From cocoa to chocolate
Roasting
In the chocolate factory, the beans are again sorted and cleaned. While roasting the beans at
130°C, the pleasant aroma of chocolate is released. The beans are heated in high ovens for 20 to
40 minutes. They get darker and the bitter flavour subsides. While burning they swell and burst.
Shell and core are separated in a winnowing machine through which a powerful current of air blows
the shells. What remains is called nibs.
At this stage, beans of different countries of origin are mixed. Each chocolatier composes his
own mixture in function of his recipe and the final product.
Milling
The beans are milled to create cocoa liquor. The washed, milled and mixed beans circulate between
milling machines or cylinders of different heights at a temperature of 50 to 70°C. The rubbing and
heath cause the fat of the beans to become fluid which creates a paste: the cocoa mass or liquor.
This liquor has a dark brown colour and congeals while cooling off.
Pressing
The cocoa liquor is pressed to extract the cocoa butter and cocoa powder. Filtered and purified, the
cocoa butter looks like butter and is stored under firm shape. This mass will create the softness
and smoothness of the chocolate during the production process.
After extraction of the cocoa butter a cocoa cake is left. This one still contains 10 to 20% of
cocoa butter. It is broken and strained to get cocoa powder.
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