Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate , where does this mouth watery treat come from? If you are wondering about that then the answers are all written on this paper!

This lip smacking chocolate treat that you are probably indulging with today, basically came from a tree. Yes it came from a tree, a tropical tree which is known as Theobroma cacao or in lay mans term known to be “cacao“. The cacao trees are basically found on soggy tropical areas such as Central and South America but about 70% of world’s cacao beans are commercially cultured throughout the tropics of Africa.

A very frail tree which is greatly dependent on the ambient heat and humidity which is able to produce at least two thousand pods per year (which is greatly agreeable, don’t you think?). Furthermore, the football shaped pods that is embarked from its branches and are strangely seen straight forwardly out of its trunk is the cacao fruit. The cacao fruit matures through-out the season and is sheathed through a sticky white pulp that is about 30 to 40 seeds. It usually has this sweet and tartly taste which is perfect constituent for beverages and food especially chocolate chocolate chocalate and more chocolate!

This odd shape thingamajig inside the cacao fruit is strictly speaking a nut but it is widely known throughout the globe as cocoa beans, cocoa seeds, chocolate beans or chocolate seeds. The fruit of this startling tree should not be eaten straight out of the pod for it has this exceedingly bitter flavor which is not like the sugary and scrumptious chocolaty taste of chocolate.

So, how do these beans become the indulgence of a lot of people? We will unravel everything on this page and we will start it with the basics. First would be the harvesting of the Pods either by hand or using a machete or a long pile with a machete on the end which is regularly done twice a year. Then, the workers use their hands to manually open the pods and ensuring to take extra care not to damage the fragile beans inside.

After the gathering all the seeds comes the most important process in the cycle know as the fermentation stage. In this phase, the sticky pulpy beans are all placed in an earthen pit or a wooden bin covered with banana leaves and then left to ferment. The metabolic process then changes the bitter taste of the cacao beans which is then transformed into something sweeter, edible and more like chocolate. Moreover, the color of the bean changes from pale to dark brown due to the scientific transformation of sugars into acid that melts the pulps away.

The fermentation process takes about a couple of days but it all depends upon the type of cacao beans being fermented. The higher the quality of beans used, the faster it gets to ferment. After fermentation, the beans are laid under the sun for about a week or so. This process let the beans to immensely develop more the flavor to an ideal chocolate aroma. Once the beans are all dried-up, they are now ready to go and shipped to the factory where all the magic happens. Just keep in mind that the key to a flawlessly luscious chocolate is perfect cacao beans.

Truly one scrumptious thought that will make you linger for chocolate chocolate chocolate and more chocolate!