We buy organic cocoa beans at a fair price. Our partners are cooperatives from the Valley of La Convención – Cusco, who work together to offer a grain properly fermented that enhances the aromatic fruity, floral and nutty flavor that characterizes our cocoa.
2.- RECEPTION OF COCOA
The bags of cocoa beans are transported and stored in specialized tanks with controlled humidity and temperature in order to maintain the quality of the cocoa.
3.- CLASSIFICATION OF GRAINS:
With the help of a grain sifter, we carefully select the sizes of cocoa beans. These are roasted according to their classification (large, medium and small). This helps with a better roasting process later on.
4.- TOASTED:
Once cleansed and classified, the cocoa bean is roasted at specific temperatures to maintain all the flavors and nutritional value of the beans. Also, in this process, the astringency characteristic of the cocoa flavor is eliminated while its delicious flavor is enhanced. This is another one of the processes that is very important, defining the taste and aroma that will later stand out in the chocolate.
5.- PEELING:
The cocoa husk is eliminated to reveal the grains or nibs of cocoa. Cocoa nibs are the only part that is used to make chocolate.
6.- MILLING:
Cocoa nibs are subjected to a grinding process. The temperature in the mill helps break down the high fat content in the nibs, causing the solid cocoa fragments to become a paste known as “paste, dough or cocoa liquor”
7.- MIXING:
In this process, the cocoa liquor obtained during the process described above and the cocoa butter are mixed. Craft sugar is added depending on the chocolate flavor we want to obtain. In this way, all our ingredients are mixed until they are fully integrated.
8.- REFINED:
The mixture is then processed in a refiner in order to reduce the size of the particles, so that the final chocolate is soft and smooth, thus avoiding the feeling of grittiness that poorly processed chocolates usually has.
9.- CONCADO
The chocolate is deposited in tanks or “concas” where it is subjected to an intense shaking process for approximately 24 hours. In this process, known as concado, the goal is to round the already refined minute particles and extract the undesirable components still present in the mixture. These are mainly cocoa-based acids that do not provide a pleasant chocolate flavor, but only astringency and bitterness.
10.-TEMPERED:
This is an essential technique in the world of chocolate making to achieve a mixture between cocoa crystals at the correct temperature. The good tempering of chocolate refers to the obtaining a stability of the temperature. First the temperature is raised to 45 °, then the temperature is lowered and chocolate shaken to form the correct type of crystals. A quality chocolate, like that of La Cholita, has a perfect shine, it is smooth in its entirety, “cracks” when cut and dissolves on the tongue.
11.- MOLDED AND REFRIGERATED:
We pour the chocolate properly tempered in metal molds so that the chocolate becomes compact. They are carefully demolded so as not to damage the work done in the previous process.
12.- PACKAGING:
Finally, our craft bars are demoulded and packaged with trilaminate paper to preserve the quality of the final product. They are then placed in boxes. Now they are ready to be displayed in our stores and to delight our clients’ palate.
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