Roasting
After careful sorting the beans are roasted at 120°C. This roasting process dries the beans and releases their flavour. This is a very important step: if the beans are roasted too long they may be burned but if the temperature is too low, bitterness and acidity will spoil the flavour

Crushing
After roasting, the beans are crushed into 2 to 3mm fragments. These pieces are called nibs. This process also allows the shell of the bean to be removed.

It is at this stage that the chocolate-maker produces his blend. Most chocolates are made from a mix of beans, in order, on one hand, to combine the qualities of each, and, on the other hand, to garante a consistent level of quality. In this case the aim of the mix is to correct the taste différences due to the vagaries of weather. This blending gives a bouquet to the chocolate.

Every cocoa bean has its own characteristics. The Cayenne bean contains a lot of cocoa butter; the Bourbon has a taste of wine; the Bahia brings robustness and the Sinnamary has a roasted smell

First Grinding
The roasted beans ,from different origins, now called nibs, are ground to become cocoa mass

Mixing the Ingredient
Certain ingrédients have to be added to the cocoa mass before it can become chocolate

Sugar: Sugar is indispensable as a flavour enhancer; on the other hand, in too large a quantity it could mask the qualities of the cocoa beans.

Cocoa Butter: A small quantity of cocoa butter is added in order to ensure a smooth 'melt in the mouth' texture.