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All chocolate is made from Cacao Beans (also known as Cocoa Beans). Cacao is chocolate! All the antioxidant value, mineral benefits, neurotransmitter rejuvenating properties, and overall health-giving qualities of chocolate are found in raw cacao beans!

All chocolate comes from the Theobroma cacao tree. On the tree, grows the cacao pod. When you open a cacao pod, you find cacao fruit and seeds. The seeds are also known as cacao beans. Cacao beans (cocoa beans) are the purest, most natural form of chocolate.

Raw Cacao Nibs First, the harvested pods are opened -typically with a machete- to expose the beans. The pulp and cocoa seeds are removed and the rind is discarded. The pulp and seeds are then piled in heaps, placed in bins, or laid out on grates for several days. During this time, the seeds and pulp undergo "sweating", where the thick pulp liquefies as it ferments. The fermented pulp trickles away, leaving cocoa seeds behind to be collected. Sweating is important for the quality of the beans, which originally have a strong bitter taste. If sweating is interrupted, the resulting cocoa may be ruined; if underdone, the cocoa seed maintains a flavor similar to raw potatoes and becomes susceptible to mildew. Some cocoa producing countries distil alcoholic spirits using the liquefied pulp. A typical pod contains 20 to 50 beans and about 400 dried beans are required to make one pound (880 per kilogram) of chocolate. Cocoa pods weigh an average of 400 grams (0.88 lb) and each one yields 35 to 40 grams (1.2 to 1.4 oz) dried beans (this yield is 40-44% of the total weight in the pod). It is estimated one person can separate the beans from 2000 pods per day. The wet beans are transported then to a facility so they can be fermented and dried. They are fermented for four to seven days and must be mixed every two days. They are dried for five to fourteen days, depending on the climate conditions. The fermented beans are dried by spreading them out over a large surface and constantly raking them. In large plantations, this is done on huge trays under the sun or by using artificial heat. Small plantations may dry their harvest on little trays or on cowhides. Finally, the beans are trodden and shuffled about (often using bare human feet) and sometimes, during this process, red clay mixed with water is sprinkled over the beans to obtain a finer color, polish, and protection against molds during shipment to factories in the United States, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and other countries. Drying in the sun is preferable to drying by artificial means, as no extraneous flavors such as smoke or oil are introduced which might otherwise taint the flavor.

All chocolate comes directly from these cacao beans. Inside of cacao beans, are the original chocolate chips: cacao nibs. To make 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of chocolate, about 300 to 600 beans are processed, depending on the desired cocoa content. In a factory, the beans are roasted. Next they are cracked and then de-shelled by a "winnower". The resulting pieces of beans are called raw cacao nibs.