Blue Heron Middle School October 2, 2012

  Cocoa pods grow on a tree  Grown 15 degrees north or south of equator  A delicate crop, bears fruit in fifth year  A tree can live 25 years or more How Cocoa Is Grown

 Cocoa Pods  Rough, leather-like husk weighing over 2 pounds  Filled with 30–50 seeds called cocoa beans  Seeds contain a sweet pulp  Pulp is half cocoa butter and half cocoa solids

  Beans are extracted by farmers  Harvesting occurs a few times a year  Beans are fermented under piles of banana leaves  Fermenting takes five days  Beans are dried in the sun on bamboo mats Picking and Fermenting

  Dried beans are sold to agents who sell to wholesalers  Most are used to produce chocolate confections  Some cocoa butter is used in cosmetics Distributing

  Beans are roasted in cylinders  Inside of bean (nib) ground into cocoa mass  Cocoa butter pressed out of the cocoa mass  Cocoa powder remains Making Cocoa Powder

  Other ingredients are added: sugar, milk, etc.  Heavy rollers swirl mixture (conching)  Mixture is heated, cooled, and then heated (tempering)  Chocolate is poured into molds  Used to make candies such as chocolate surrounding caramel (enrobing) Producing Chocolate