cocoa Butter

Where does cocoa butter come from? 

If you can take a look above, you can see a glimpse of how this wonderful creation came into existence. 

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Often, it begins its life in a fiber basket.

Cacao trees can grow up to 60 feet in height.

The tree produces either white or pink flowers that must be pollinated in order for the fruit (pod) to grow. 

* Only 3-10% of the thousands of flowers end up producing fruit.

Lets begin with the Theobroma Cacao (cocoa tree). It can thrive and best produce fruit in warm and shady tropical regions of the world that run along the equator.

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After the pods are harvested, they are then split opened to show the treasure inside. The fruit contains juice, pulp, and 50-60 cocoa seeds. At this stage in the cocoa seeds' life, they are white looking, and contain a jelly membrane around them. They resemble white, over-sized corn kernels, rather than the cocao nibs or cocoa powder we may picture in our minds.

Once the seeds are separated from the pods, fermentation begins. The seeds are  often placed in wooden boxes, or raked out into piles, then covered with bananas leaves. This process can take anywhere from 2-14 days.

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This changes its appearance to something we may be more familiar with. Removing the now dried outer shell will reveal chocolate in its purest raw form!

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From this point forward, there are many different roads that this new raw chocolate could travel. There are innumerable processes that it can undergo to create an array of desired products.

The process of how cocoa butter is made will be discussed in our next post. 
Until then, enjoy your new-found appreciation for one of life's most delectable gifts, by trying some today.