Chocolate actually comes from the cacao plant, which grows cocoa pods, the fruit. The pods hold the many cocoa beans, which are later roasted to make the chocolate we know and love. They grow all year round, but are only harvested twice a year. The pods MUST be picked when they are ripe, and they can't fall on the ground.

                 The cacao plant

When the beans are picked out from the pods, the harvesters leave them out to dry in the sun until they are a red- brown color. When they are dry, they are put into bags and shipped out to the chocolate factories.

        cocoa pods

When the beans reach the factories, they are washed and winnowed (taking out the unwanted, outside shell) and then they are roasted to turn the inside of the bean (the nib) a dark brown. you know they are done when the smell of chocolate becomes distinguishable.

To remove some of the fat (the cocoa butter) the nibs are cooled and then ground in a mill The nibs become a very thick, dark chocolate syrup. Then an operator will add milk, sugar and flavor, and blend them until they become a paste. Then the paste will be pressed to dry.

mmm..

A large machine will knead the paste to get all the bad flavors out. This is called conching, and it is the most important part in chocolate manufacturing.

Until the chocolate is needed, it is gently mixed. Then the chocolate can be molded into any shape, rabbits, frogs, Santa's, anything.

The final step is for the chocolate to be wrapped and packaged in paper and boxes, and distributed off to all the chocolate shops where you can by them!

all that hard work paid off...!

:-) yum yum yum! :-)

I probably bored you all to death with that, but if you did read it, well done, congratulations, fantastic, absolutely fabulous!

if you didn't read it, don't worry. if it was some one else's page i wouldn't read it either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

:-)Cadbury chocolate! the best in the world! yes? well i think so :-)

:-)Cadbury world!!!!! best place to go :-)

Thank you for coming to look at my chocolate page. I hope you have found it interesting     bubi