Description

The processing of raw cocoa beans into cocoa mass implies a number of stages. Before arriving at the factory the raw cocoa beans have been fermented and dried, while during transhipment the first quality control has taken place in the port.

On arrival at the processing factory the beans are subjected to another thorough inspection, thereafter to be cleaned, mixed into the desired blend, fragmented and stripped of their husks. What remains is the inner part of the kernel, called nib. The nibs are heat-treated to eliminate possible bacteria and subsequently roasted and ground into a liquid cocoa mass. The nibs are alkalized before, during or after the roasting process. This determines the colour and taste of the cocoa mass, which, as an intermediate or semi finished product, is supplied to the chocolate industry and is also the basis for the production of cocoa powder and cocoa butter