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   Introduction: Making Chocolate from Cacao Seeds Manufacturing Chocolate Blends Art and ScienceOnce a company purchases a shipment of cacao, the manufacturing of actual chocolate can begin. Chocolate makers send cacao seeds through a long, mechanized process. A series of automated machines roasts, cracks, presses, and tempers cacao to create chocolate, cocoa powder, and cocoa butter. At first, cacao was ground by hand. When the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica first discovered cacao’s delicious properties, they made chocolate entirely by hand. They crushed the seeds to create a chocolate paste that, when mixed with water, became a tasty beverage. Early European chocolate lovers used the same labor-intensive grinding technique until the Industrial Revolution introduced timesaving machinery.  Eventually, machines replaced hand grinding.Once the era of the steam engine came along, cacao seeds could be ground quickly and easily in large amounts. Mass-produced chocolate rapidly became the global standard. Further inventions streamlined and automated the chocolate-making process. The cocoa press made it possible to separate cocoa from cocoa butter, and the conching machine perfected the taste and texture of chocolate. Advertising gave chocolate a global market. Early handmade chocolates were a luxury reserved for the wealthiest members of European society. But by the 1800s, mass production made chocolate affordable to everyone—and advertising stirred up public demand for more. Continue to Stage 1: Harvesting Cacao |
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