Origination

Origination and the chocolate process:

• The beans originate from Ghana, where the government there agrees a fair price with cocoa farmers.  The beans are harvested using skilled labour.
  
  
• Harvesting cannot be done by machine-only years of experience can assess whether the pod is ripe.
  
  
• The pods are cut off the tree by machete, split open by machetes, revealing 28-32 purplish beans surrounded by a white furry substance a bit similar to the inside of a broad bean.
  
  
• The beans are then fermented for 3-5 days to develop the flavour inside the cotyledon.  Small farmers achieve this by enclosing the beans in a nest of banana leaves (these leaves are used as banana trees usually grow sided by side next to cocoa trees as their broad leaves shelter the cocoa trees from the hot sun).
  
  
• The beans are then dried in the sun and turned over using a broom.  On larger farms the beans are on trays that can be pushed under a canopy should the rains begin.
  
  
• The beans are then sifted and checked for bits of vegetation.
  
  
• The beans are then roasted - roasted at a secret temperature for a secret amount of time.  This process will give the beans their distinctive flavour.
  
  
• The beans are then poured into sacks, weighed, then shipped to the Converters - usually in Belgium or Germany.
  
  
• The Converters then grind the beans until the are so fine that when put on the tongue you could never tell that the powder was ever a bean
  

Our award winning chocolate "The Source" is a tribute to the origin of chocolate.