How is chocolate made?

Chocolate making starts a long way from here. Namely, at the cacao tree. Cocoa trees grow in the tropical belt between 15 degrees north and 15 degrees south of the equator. They thrive best in a constant climate with temperatures averaging 25°C and in areas with lots of rain and high humidity. The tropical rainforest! Despite their preference for heat, cocoa trees avoid direct sunlight and need a "canopy. Therefore, they are often grown under trees such as banana, rubber and mango. 

As with all trees and plants, the creation of the cacao fruit begins with blossom. The special thing about a cacao tree is that the blossom grows directly from the trunk. Another interesting fact is that humans help artificially fertilize the blossom using a brush. This is because only 5% of the blossom is naturally pollinated by insects. After about 5 months, the cacao fruit is ripe. Also called cacao "pod. The cocoa farmer carefully removes the brightly colored fruit from the tree with a sharp knife so that unripe fruit and blossoms are not damaged. This is because the cocoa tree can contain blossoms and fruit at the same time. After harvesting, the pods are opened with a machete so that the fermentation process can begin. The seeds and pulp are removed from the cacao pods and placed in large wooden boxes. They are then covered with banana leaves. Due to the high sugar content of the pulp, a fermentation process begins, raising the temperature to as high as 50°C. During this process, the color of the pulp changes from cream to the familiar chocolate brown color and the basis for the cocoa aroma is laid.