From Bean to Bar
We've come a long way! After several years, a small cacao tree grows and eventually produces flowers. Several months after flowering, pollinated flowers produce a pod, and the beans are harvested from those pods by hand. But the transformation of cacao beans into chocolate is still just beginning.
Cacao beans and pulp in a banana-leaf lined box
The beans and the surrounding sweet, white pulp are placed in a box lined with banana leaves. The sugars in the pulp provide a substrate for fermentation, which proceeds for 3-8 days.
The heat generated by fermentation will kill the seed, which both prevents the seed from germinating and begins some of the chemical reactions that will contribute to the sublime flavor profile of the finished chocolate.
After fermentation, the beans are dried for several days to stop the fermentation process.
Cacao on drying tables that allow for air to circulate
A dried cacao bean after fermentation
Once the beans are dried, they are ready to be roasted. At Finca Sueños, beans are carefully roasted in small batches to prevent under- or over- roasting and to consistently create a perfectly balanced flavor profile in the roasted bean.
Roasted beans are finally ready to be ground into a paste
The toasted beans are carefully ground in small batches
Freshly ground cacao paste is ready to be shaped into bars
The cultivation, harvest, and processing of our chocolate are all infused with love and admiration for this plant, the surrounding environment, and its uniquely delicious product. We hope that you enjoy the exceptional taste of this chocolate as much as we do!
