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Sorting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Since small-scale producers use so few beans compared to industrial producers, a few bad beans can have a huge impact on the finished product. Any beans that are broken, misshapen, or mouldy are thrown out prior to roasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll occasionally find a stray coffee bean since these bags are used by small scale producers that commonly grow coffee at a slightly higher elevation. When a company processes mountains of cacao beans, a few stray coffee beans don\u2019t mean much for the end product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roasting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some small scale producers use coffee roasting machines, some use rotisserie ovens. At home chocolate makers can use a conventional oven as long as the beans are evenly roasted. This point is critical in the bean to bar process, so a quality oven is a must.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The roasting method varies from producer to producer. Some don\u2019t roast at all and they create what is known as \u201cvirgin\u201d chocolate, which highlights the natural flavours of the beans. Some roast extra dark to pull out darker coffee-like notes. Moksha lightly roasts to get the best of both worlds. During the roasting process, the room fills with the smell of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Cracking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Cracking the beans separates the husk of the bean from the cacao nibs that are nestled inside. The cacao husks are a byproduct of the process but can be used for landscape mulch (keeps dogs away). The nibs are the little treasures we are after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For this step, the roasted beans are crushed just enough to release the husk from the nibs but winnowing is where the separation occurs. At home, you could lightly roll the beans using a rolling pin or wine bottle to crack the beans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Winnowing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Using a fan and vacuum system, the husks are much lighter than the nibs so the air takes the husks away from all of the nibs. At home, some hobbyists simply use a blow dryer on a low setting to blow the husks from the nibs. Ideally, you end up with pure nibs in one bin and husks in the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Refining<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Nibs contain both cacao solids and cacao butter. The ratio of butter to solids varies with the varieties and origins. Some producers will pre-refine by running the nibs through a heavy-duty juicer to crush them. Many artisan producers have a melanger that crushes and smoothes the mixture over the course of 8-24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conching mellows out the flavour of the nibs by folding oxygen into the cacao and increasing the heat and friction within the mixture. Conching spins the chocolate for hours or days until you like the flavour and texture of the mixture. This is the part of the bean to bar transformation that people love to see. A vortex of liquid chocolate reminds you of Willy Wonka\u2019s factory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is also the step where sugar is incorporated. In Moksha\u2019s dark chocolate bars, the only ingredients are cacao and sugar. The timing of sugar addiction plays a huge role in the final product. If you crush the nibs with sugar from the beginning, you will end up with a chocolate bar with a satin finish. If you add the sugar into the vortex of liquid chocolate, you will get sugar crystals throughout the bar. After adding sugar, the chocolate is done whenever you feel like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For inclusion bars, some will add milk for milk chocolate, some add fruit, nuts, spices, more nibs, or for Moksha\u2019s milk chocolate bar, they add coconut milk powder, creating an incredible vegan option. Whenever the flavour has developed to what you want and the sweetness is dialled in, you are ready to temper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Tempering<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you want a chocolate bar to last on the shelf for more than a few days, tempering is essential. Tempering gives the chocolate a beautiful shine and snap. If you were to take the chocolate straight out of the mixer, put it in a refrigerator, it would solidify and taste incredible and melt quickly in your mouth but it wouldn\u2019t do well at room temp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bloom, which looks like freezer burn, would occur which is when fat or sugar migrates throughout the bar. The texture would be more of a dry crumbly bite rather than the melt in your mouth feel we are all after. The goal is to slowly cool the molten chocolate so you can prevent the uneven crystallization of the fats or sugars. You know you\u2019ve tempered correctly when the chocolate is shiny with no streaks and melts slowly in your mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A neat feature that artisan producers talk about is how chocolate from different origins tempers differently due to varying levels of fat in the beans. A variety of cacao can also impact the fat content of the beans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Molding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This is exactly what it sounds like. Pouring the melted chocolate into a mold so it can solidify into the shape you want. Michael from Moksha spreads the chocolate evenly in the molds and then adds an inclusion like raspberries, blood oranges, pretzels, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Lastly, Moksha packages their chocolate bars and on the label, you can clearly see where the beans are from and the variety of cacao they are using. Bean to bar producers usually source great beans because the cacao is the primary flavor they are after. Moksha uses the Criollo variety of cacao from a farm in Peru where they source the beans directly. They own a share of the farm in Peru and are completely transparent with their process. Transparency is something we should value as much as the incredible taste of artisan chocolate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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