While we were in Costa Rica we stopped at a chocolate plantation. I’m sure everyone know the story; how a chocolate drink was served to the Spanish conquistadores and from there went on to become one of the most popular foods in the world.

Cocoa pods on a tree.

The seeds inside are coated in a sweet jelly like substance. That has to be taken off.

Once the jelly like substance is removed, the beans are fermented. After fermentation, the beans are dried.

Then the beans are cleaned and roasted. The shell is removed. The tool used to do that at this plantation was a large mortar with a pestle to crush the shell.

The inner seeds, the cacao nibs, are then ground to cocoa mass, unadulterated chocolate in rough form.

These nibs are heated and reduced to a liquid. Adding sugar, cinnamon, nuts and more -yum.

The higher the amount of the chocolate (you will see 70% for bittersweet for example) the stronger the chocolate flavor.