Chocolate production method--from a flower to start a gorgeous transformation

Almost all the chocolate products in the world come from assembly lines in large factories of four or five big companies. However, "handmade chocolate" is becoming a trend, attracting more and more people to indulge in it. These delicate flowers are the beginning of every piece of chocolate you have eaten. Cocoa flowers grow directly on the trunk and trunk branches of cocoa trees and eventually form brightly colored cocoa pods. This photo was taken in Hawaii, the only place in the United States where cocoa can be grown.

Passionate chocolate lovers are keen on the whole process from picking cocoa beans to making chocolate bars. One such chocolate maker is Dom Ramsey from London, who details the magical process of making chocolate "from beans to bars". From this picture, you can see the cocoa pods growing directly on the branches of the cocoa tree. The photo was taken in Grenada

Strangely colored cocoa pods. The difference in color results from the diversity of cocoa varieties and small genetic differences. Taken in Hawaii.

In amazing colors.

Each pod has white flesh wrapped in 25-40 cocoa beans.

Sweet white flesh wrapped in cocoa beans.

These are cocoa beans. Different varieties of cocoa beans are different in color, usually purple, but some of the better scented cocoa beans are almost white.

After harvest, cut the pods and remove the cocoa beans and pulp. The beans are put into some kind of container-usually a large wooden box, covered with banana leaves, so that they can ferment for 5-7 days. This fermentation process is very important for the formation of chocolate flavor. This is sweet milk fermentation, and when it becomes like this, it becomes liquid and drains, leaving a bean brown color. In the process, the temperature of beans can exceed 50 degrees Celsius (120 ℃), so if you have ever eaten a product called "raw chocolate", it is almost certainly not raw.

After fermentation, put the beans in the sun for 7-10 days.

Turn the beans frequently during the drying process to ensure that they are evenly dried. In some places (such as Grenada), cocoa beans are turned by people walking between them, a process often referred to as "stepping on beans". Or, if you don't want to flip the beans with your feet, you can use a tool called RaboT!

When dried, the beans are packed in sacks and shipped to chocolate producers around the world.

The first thing we did after we got the beans was to sort the cocoa beans manually. The main purpose of this process is to select broken beans, branches, stones and other sundries that may be mixed in the fermentation and drying process to ensure that the best beans are used to make the best chocolate.

A baking device modified with an oven. Artisanal chocolate lovers like Dom Ramsey can't have a complete set of professional equipment, so they can only do it simply because of bad conditions. The cocoa beans are baked in a drum for 20 minutes.

After baking, the beans are broken and filtered by a crusher.

Chopped cocoa beans are selected by the wind, and the next process is grinding.

Pour a little bit of chopped cocoa beans into the mill Cocoatown melanger-- consists of a granite base and a granite wheel weighing up to 50 kilograms. When the wheel turns, the chopped cocoa beans will be crushed. In the process, the heat generated by friction melts the cocoa butter in the butter (about 50% of the weight of cocoa beans is cocoa butter), which has a melting point of about 34-38 degrees Celsius. At this stage, we add sugar (dark chocolate), milk powder (milk chocolate) and the seasoning we want.

Two days later... After three days of grinding, the chocolate is softer and smoother. This refining process is also beneficial to the formation of chocolate flavor. Continuous grinding and heat reduce bitterness.

Small batches of milk chocolate are produced on a table grinder. This is exactly the same as the production process of a large factory, but on a very small scale.

Put the ground chocolate into a large plastic bucket and let it set. Stand still for a few weeks, which helps to further the formation of chocolate flavor.

The Chocolate Wave!

Temper the chocolate to make it smoother and moist. Chocolate exists in several different crystal forms, which is accomplished by raising and lowering the temperature very precisely.

Finished chocolate bars.

Packaged chocolate bars.

The panoramic view of Dom Ramsey's chocolate workshop can be described as "the sparrow has all the five organs".

Dom Ramsey's front shop and back factory in London.