The Process of Chocolate

Cacao Beans
Dried and fermented beans from cacao tree pods come chiefly from West Africa, South America and the Indies.

Cacao Nibs
Beans are cleaned, roasted to bring out their flavor and aroma, and shelled to produce their “meat,” called nibs.

Chocolate Liquor
Nibs are stone-ground, the heat melting them into chocolate liquor; cooled as bars, it is known as unsweetened or cooking chocolate.

Cocoa Butter
Cocoa butter, the bean's natural fat pressed from chocolate liquor, gives eating chocolate body, smoothness and flavor.

Natural and Dutched Cocoa Powders
The remaining dry cake of the chocolate liquor is ground into cocoa powder. Dutched cocoa powder is acid-neutralized, has a darker color and a different flavor.

White Chocolate
Cocoa butter, sugar, milk and vanilla flavoring are carefully processed by pressure and heat into a smooth, flavorful product.

Milk Chocolate Coating
To make milk chocolate coating, fresh whole milk is added to the chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla flavoring.

Dark Chocolate Coating
Chocolate liquor, with cocoa butter, sugar and vanilla flavoring, produces dark, flavorful chocolate. Different ratios result in sweet, semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate.

Chocolate Facts

Chocolate is Healthy - You Feel Great When You Eat Chocolate
Chocolate can be a part of a healthy balanced diet. A substance in chocolate called theobromine triggers the release of endorphins which are chemicals produced by the brain that act like a natural antidepressant.

Chocolate is Low in Caffeine
Chocolate is low in caffeine. One (1) ounce of milk chocolate contains about 6 mg. of caffeine, while a 5 oz. cup of coffee contains about 100mg. of caffeine.

Chocolate is good for you!
Doctors now say chocolate is good for you! Research has confirmed that chocolate is a good source of the kind of antioxidants found in tea. In fact the antioxidant in chocolate is four times stronger than in tea.

Fat in chocolate can also help your immune system. Eating chocolate can also produce increased energy. Scientists have also concluded that pure chocolate won't cause high cholesterol, tooth cavities, or acne.

Pure dark chocolate, with its high cocoa to sugar ratio may also discourage tooth decay.