Chocolate | How it’s Made

From pods on a tree to a bar on a supermarket shelf, discover how the bitter cacao bean transforms into your favourite chocolate.

Most of the world’s cocoa is grown in Africa. In 2022, just two countries produced almost 60% of the world's cocoa - The Ivory Coast and Ghana.¹ But how does the cacao bean growing on an African tree become the chocolate we know and love on European supermarket shelves? I sat down with Óscar García, a professional chocolate taster (yes, that’s a job!) to learn more.

Óscar once worked at the Museum of Chocolate in Peru. He fell in love with the world of chocolate, founded his own chocolate company, and now chairs the Bean to Bar Association in Spain - a group where chocolate makers can connect and learn from one another. Together, we made a chocolate bar from scratch—from the cacao bean to the final product—and I asked him questions along the way.

Step 1: Harvesting Cacao Pods

The chocolate-making process begins with the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), which thrives in tropical regions around the equator in countries like the Ivory Coast, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, Peru and Ecuador. A cacao tree typically takes around five years to mature and begin producing fruit, yielding an average of 30 to 40 pods per year.²

Farmers harvest cacao pods, which are roughly the size of small melons, from the trees. Each pod contains 20 to 50 cacao beans surrounded by a sweet and slightly acidic white pulp. According to Óscar, it takes about 80 cacao beans to produce a single chocolate bar— about two of the giant cacao fruits you see in the picture!

After farmers carefully cut pods from the tree with machetes, they split them open to reveal the beans. It’s from these beans that producers will make cocoa solids and cocoa butter—two essential ingredients in chocolate-making.^3,4

The cacao in chocolate is rich in magnesium and antioxidants - which can help protect us from certain diseases. The higher the cacao content, the more health benefits. So, if you’re looking for a healthier option, try eating chocolate with at least 70% cacao and avoid white chocolate - which doesn’t contain any cocoa solids. (Moderation is still a good idea - even dark chocolate contains sugar and saturated fat!)

Cacao pods usually take between 5 and 6 months to mature after flowering between October and March, which is the end of the rainy season in most producing countries. Photo courtesy of Óscar García. 

Step 2: Fermentation

The harvested cacao beans, still covered in sticky pulp, are placed in shallow containers or wooden boxes to ferment. Fermentation usually happens outdoors in shaded areas to protect the beans from direct sunlight or rain. 

Fermentation lasts 3 to 8 days, depending on the weather and temperature. During this time, natural microbes like yeast and bacteria break down the sugars in the pulp, creating heat and starting chemical changes that develop the beans’ chocolate flavour. 

The beans are regularly mixed or turned to make sure they ferment evenly. “Fermentation is arguably one of the most important steps for producing chocolate since it is where the complex flavour profiles develop, just like with wine and cheese,” says Óscar. Without fermentation, the beans taste bitter and bland. This process, influenced by temperature and bacteria, helps create the tastes we associate with chocolate.⁵

Step 3: Drying the Beans

Once farmers have finished fermenting the cocoa beans, they spread them out in the sun to dry - a process that takes a few days to a few weeks. Drying the beans prevents mould from ruining them during storage and transport. Farmers must dry the beans slowly and evenly, or the flavour will be off. 

After drying, the cacao beans lose most of their moisture (usually at least 92%) and more than half their weight. Once dried, the beans are packed into bags and shipped to chocolate manufacturers (mostly based in Europe and North America) where the majority of global chocolate processing happens. The beans have already changed a lot since the farmers first split open the cacao pods, but they still do not resemble the chocolate we know and love.⁵

Did you know on average, cocoa farmers receive only about 6% of the final value of a chocolate bar? One way to support cocoa farmers is to look out for Fairtrade-certified chocolate - which ensures farmers will receive a minimum price for their crop, no matter what happens to the global price of cocoa. Or you can look out for chocolate that is made in the same country where the cacao beans are grown - keeping jobs and profits in producing countries.

Step 4: Roasting 

Once the cacao beans arrive at the factory, they are roasted to develop their flavour. Roasting temperatures and times vary depending on the desired flavour profile but typically range from 120 to 140 °C for about 30 minutes. During roasting, the beans darken, and their rich, chocolatey aroma begins to emerge.

Some speciality shops sell “raw chocolate”, meaning the beans were not roasted. The idea behind this is to maintain as many healthy compounds in the chocolate as possible - but there’s still debate about how effective that really is. 

Step 5: Cracking open the beans

After roasting, the beans are cracked open to remove the shells in a process called winnowing. The outer shells are removed by a special winnowing machine that uses bursts of air to separate the shells and the cocoa nibs. Cocoa nibs are a crucial ingredient in making chocolate. (You can also eat cacao nibs raw, but they are very bitter!) The outer shell of the bean is thrown away, or in some cases, upcycled and used to make products like sustainable packaging materials or compost.^6,7

Cacao shells are full of protein, fibre and minerals - so they can even be added to animal feed. Find out more about sustainable animal feed alternatives.

Step 6: Grinding

Have you ever seen how peanut butter is made? It starts with grinding roasted nuts until they transform into a smooth, creamy spread. Making chocolate liquor is surprisingly similar. Roasted cacao nibs are ground over and over, breaking apart the fat particles until the mixture shifts from gritty to a thick, flowing paste.

When I made chocolate with Óscar, I decided to try this part of the process by hand with a pestle and mortar instead of using the industrial grinder. It took patience (and a fair bit of arm strength), but slowly, I could see and feel the texture change. Despite the name, there’s no alcohol in chocolate liquor—just a natural blend of cocoa solids and cocoa butter.⁸

Step 7: Conching 

To create smooth, high-quality chocolate, the chocolate liquor (produced during grinding) is refined through a process called conching. During this stage, the chocolate mass is continuously mixed and heated—sometimes for 12 to 72 hours. This helps refine the texture, eliminate bitterness, and develop the chocolate's complex flavour profile.^9,10

At this stage, the cocoa liquor resembles melted chocolate, but it’s as bitter as unsweetened baking chocolate. To balance the bitterness, sugar is added, transforming the mixture into something sweet and rich. Depending on the type of chocolate—milk, dark, or white—different proportions of cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar, and milk powder are added to the mix. For example, dark chocolate contains more cocoa solids, while milk chocolate has more milk and sugar for a creamier taste, and white chocolate doesn’t contain any cocoa solids - only cocoa butter.

Step 8: Tempering

Next comes tempering, where the chocolate is carefully cooled and reheated to stabilise the cocoa butter. This ensures the final product has a glossy finish and a satisfying snap when broken. Without tempering, the chocolate would have a dull, grainy appearance.³

Tempering chocolate involves carefully raising and lowering its temperature to change the structure of its crystals. Untempered chocolate looks dull and crumbly, while tempered chocolate appears shiny and firm, and has that signature snap. While tempering used to be done by hand, most large-scale chocolatiers now rely on machines to achieve the perfect temper.

Grinding was traditionally done by hand. But in today’s market, grinding mainly relies on industrial machines. Photo courtesy of Óscar García.

Final Steps: Moulding and Packaging

Once tempered, the chocolate is poured into moulds to take on its final shape. Together with Óscar, I added dried mango and other fruits, as well as cacao nibs for an extra crunch during this process. Whether it’s a classic chocolate bar, truffles, or an Easter Egg, moulding ensures each piece looks as good as it tastes. Once cooled, it’s wrapped and packaged, ready to be shared at a gathering, given as a thoughtful gift, or enjoyed under a cosy blanket when you need a little pick-me-up.