Making Chocolate

Share

When enjoying chocolate properly one of the first sensations you feel is the slowing of time….  an absorption into the present. Where all your concerns and stresses attenuate.  It’s like everything around you simply washed away …and all you feel is now.  

It truly is a gift of ultimate luxury

 – Maren Muter

Our chocolate is traditionally handmade, and we still spend hours and days grinding the beans to create our powders. Our poured chocolate was made in-house while my children were with me, and our recipe is now made with help from another chocolate maker. My children and I have been hand making chocolate for almost 20 years, and I continue to do so in small batches …it is just as magical as the gift of the cacao!

So, how do you make chocolate after the beans are removed from the pod, fermented and sun dried…

Step 1: Roasting

Slow roast the beans in a preheated oven. Typical temperatures range between 145 to 300 degrees. Roast for 10-15 minutes

I use a lower temperature on the lower range… sometimes right around 118 degrees F.

Step 2: Winnowing or peeling the beans

This is taking the husk (aka hull) off the bean. It’s kind of like the skin on a peanut. After you hand peel or in place of hand peeling you can use a hairdryer and a bowl and bag to mix things up to separate the nibs from the husks.

Step 3: Grinding

There are several ways to grind the beans. I like to use a rock and shallow stone bowl or a mortar and pestle. We also use a Melanger. Turning it into a cocoa liquor or paste.

Step 4: Refining/Conching 

For this step, you need a Melanger. A Melanger is a stone slab with stone wheels that crushes and smooths the pieces of nib left in cocoa liquor. It is this stage that you add your other power ingredients (sugars, spices, etc…). For very small batches this can be done by hand using a metate (mealing stone).

Once your chocolate is made you can add fruits or other treats or enjoy it plain