with prosecution of traffickers . Few chocolate makers ever do anything about it , and consumers demand the cheapest goods possible .
1.1 How chocolate is made
Cacao beans grow in pods about 20cm ( 8 inches ) long that sprout off of the trunk and branches of cacao trees . The pods start out green and turn golden-orange when theyʹre ripe . The pods are harvested by hand , using short , hooked blades on poles . Then they are split open using a machete and the cacao beans , sometimes more than 50 per pod , are removed . Fresh cacao beans grow inside white husks , and do not taste like chocolate at all .
After the beans are extracted from the pods , they undergo the fermenting process . If the climate is right , they may be simply heated by the sun . During this time the beans turn brown . This takes five to eight days .
Once fermented , they are dried and shipped to factories across the world . The drying process usually takes about a week and results in seeds that are about half of their original weight . In factories , machines will refine the beans to a roasted nib by winnowing ( removing the husk ) and roasting .
At the factories , they will be heated and melted into chocolate liquor . Then the chocolate liquor is mixed with sugar and milk . After the blending process , the liquid chocolate will be delivered to the molding factory in tanks and will be poured into molds . Finally , machines will pack the chocolate and then it will be ready to sell .
5
From cacao to cocoa :
Cacao beans are the seeds from which cocoa is made . Cocoa powder is used to make chocolate .
Throughout this book I refer to cacao plantations . as cocoa plantations , as that is the product that cacao is made into .