Harrods Cocoa Dusted Almonds

The science and the art of chocolate

When I was a child, I found chocolate fascinating and I was wondering  Where did it come from? How was it made? What magic was behind this sweet and creamy goodness?

Where Is It From?

The treat so loved worldwide has very humble beginnings. The cacao bean begins life inside a fruit, called a pod, on a tree in the tropics, primarily in remote areas of West Africa, Southeast Asia and Central and South America.

These delicate, flower-covered trees need much tending and, when farmed using sustainable methods, grow in harmony in tropical forests beneath other cash crops such as bananas, rubber or hardwood trees. Grown on small family farms, the beans leave cocoa farms by hand, in carts, on donkeys or rugged trucks to be sold to a local buyer and then to processors abroad.

Once in the factory, they are ground, pressed, heated and stirred to create luxurious chocolate.

What Is It?

Chocolate grows on trees.

The cocoa "beans" that form the basis of chocolate are actually seeds from the fruit of the cacao tree, which grows near the Equator. The seeds grow inside a pod-like fruit and are covered with white pulp.

How is chocolate made?

To make chocolate, cocoa farmers crack open the pods, scoop out the seeds, ferment them and dry them.

The beans are shipped to factories, where manufacturers inspect and clean them, then roast and grind them into a paste called chocolate liquor. More pressing, rolling, mixing with sugar and other ingredients, and heating and cooling yields delicious chocolate.

Who Depends On It?

Humans’ love affair with chocolate began at least 4,000 years ago in Mesoamerica, in present-day southern Mexico and Central America, where cacao grew wild. When the Olmecs unlocked the secret of how to eat this bitter seed, they launched an enduring phenomenon.

Since then, people around the world have turned to chocolate to cure sickness, appease gods, show love, buy rabbits, fete holidays, survive fasts, ward off scorpions and sustain warriors. 

In fact, the making of chocolate has evolved into an industry so large that 40 to 50 million people depend on cocoa for their livelihoods—and chocolate farmers produce 3.8 million tons of cocoa beans per year

Savor It

To bite the corner off a glossy chocolate bar, then feel it melt and swirl slowly on the tongue, can be divine. With its 1,500 flavor compounds, chocolate provides plenty to contemplate. It can seem fruity or spicy, earthy or sweet, or like lavender or lemons or liqueur—the list goes on and on.

Chocolate’s smooth texture helps make it wonderful. While the unmistakable chocolate taste gets all the glory, cocoa butter provides chocolate’s creamy goodness because it melts just below body temperature. Most chocolatiers add extra amounts when they make their chocolates. 

Enjoying chocolate is all about discovering what  you like best. Taste manykinds dark, milk and white—to appreciate the subtle flavors. Learn about labels so that you can choose the chocolates that match your preferences. And join countless cocoa farmers and others throughout history and throughout the world who have used chocolate in rituals to celebrate, to heal—and to savor.