| Making chocolate is a long process, beginning with the | | | | happens twice a year. Cacao trees prefer to grow in |
| growing and cultivating of the cacao trees and to | | | | shaded areas, particularly under the shade of taller |
| molding the liquefied cacao in the chocolate factories, | | | | trees and thus, in the orchard, cacao trees are planted |
| and finally designed and added with different types of | | | | beside banana trees, coconut trees, or rubber trees. |
| flavors and confections. From the plantation of cacao | | | | Harvesting cacao beans |
| trees in South and Central Americas as well as from | | | | The cacao pods take about five to six months to |
| other cacao growing countries like Brazil, Nigeria, | | | | develop before they can be harvested. When the pod |
| Indonesia, Ecuador, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Papua New | | | | turns orange or red from a green or yellow color, then |
| Guinea, Cameroon, and Dominican Republic, to the | | | | this means that it is ripe and ready for harvesting. |
| wonderfully lined chocolates in chocolate shops, | | | | Once the farmers harvest the pods using a machete, |
| chocolate is a world-wide production that goes through | | | | they place the pods in large wooden boxes covered |
| a lot of hands. | | | | with banana leaves. The pods are then left to ferment |
| Three main cacao varieties | | | | for days, depending on the type of cacao plant. Criollo |
| There are three main varieties of cacao trees that are | | | | beans ferment in around two to three days while |
| cultivated for making chocolate and distributed all over | | | | trinitario and forastero need three to seven days to |
| the world: the Criollo, the Forastero and the Trinitario. | | | | ferment. In the process of fermentation, the beans |
| The Criollo cacao tree comes from Central America | | | | become wrinkled and darker in color, and its extremely |
| and makes up about ten to fifteen percent of total | | | | bitter taste diminishes. |
| cacao trees in the world. They are small trees that are | | | | Distributing in chocolate factories |
| hard to grow but develop beans that are rich in aroma | | | | After fermentation, the beans are then dried under the |
| and flavor. The Forastero cacao is a lot easier to | | | | sun for another several days. After drying, they are |
| grow and this make up almost 70 percent of cacao | | | | packed in sacks and shipped to factories all over the |
| world production. Its beans have a bitterer flavor than | | | | world for making all kinds of chocolate, from dark |
| the Criollo cacao beans. The Trinitario is a cross-breed | | | | chocolate to white chocolate. The chocolate factory |
| of the Forastero and the Criollo cacao. It takes the | | | | then sorts and cleans the beans then roasts them at |
| aroma of Criollo and the resilience of Forastero against | | | | 250 to 350 degrees for as long as two hours or as |
| diseases and pests. | | | | little as thirty minutes. The beans are then removed |
| Growing under shade | | | | from their outer shell, crushed, melted, and ground to a |
| In general, cacao trees shoot up as high as sixty feet | | | | thick paste until it becomes what is called, chocolate |
| when grown in the wild. Farmers who cultivate cacao | | | | liquor, the main ingredient of chocolate. Depending on |
| trim them to about 20 feet so that their pods can be | | | | whether the production is for dark or milk chocolate, |
| easily reached come harvest time, which usually | | | | sugar, vanilla, and lecithin are then added. |