Chocolate Manufacturing Methods

February 8, 2006

The way chocolate is manufactured dictates how a chocolate will taste. It is very difficult to make great chocolate with nice flavor nuances using a low quality bean. And even if you begin with a very high quality bean it is difficult to make a chocolate that is truly exceptional. Each chocolate manufacturer employs slighly different strategies during production to achieve specific flavor profiles. These strategies tend to be evident when tasting the chocolate of any given manufacturer, and each one has their own individual style. There are four primary ways that a manufacturer controls the outcome of the chocolate flavor: Roasting, Blending beans, Mixing in ingredients, and Conching time and temperature variance.



There is, however, a very different approach taken by the people who make chocolate in Central America and parts of South America. Some choose the European method for production because it is a more profitable product in the weathly Northern markets. Others stick with more traditional methods used for making drinking chocolate and simple refine a little more to make solid chocolate for eating. Complex conche machines are removed from the equation, as is the inclusion of additional cocoa butter, an expensive ingredient.



Though more simple in method, the natural flavors of the chocolate are less sullied by conching and extended periods of high temperatures. However, this method results in a product that is not as smooth as its European counterpart, and has a much less refined mouthfeel, especially to the European palate.

The making of a cacao bean into eating chocolate is an art of many skills, from the buying of the bean to the packaging of the finished product. I look forward to seeing how this art form progresses over the coming years. With the current rate of growth in the fine chocolate category, especially the single-origin market, I suspect we will see more chocolate manufacturers experimenting with less refined products that provide a more natural flavor experience.