How to Make Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is a beneficial snack, containing elements that stimulate the brain, prevent coughs and provide anticancer and antidiarrheal effects. It also improves the circulatory system. The process of making chocolate at home is a lengthy and messy project but the results are tempting. With enough practice, home-based chocolatiers can garner enough experience to make gifts for friends and family or even start a small business.

Things You'll Need

• Cocoa beans
• Hand grinder
• Tea towels
• Two bowls
• Water
• Baking tray
• Oven

Instructions

1. Purchase cocoa beans. Cocoa beans are available from online retailers, such as Gohunza.com and International Organics (see Resources below).

2. Roast the beans. Spread the beans in a single layer on a baking tray and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. You could also use a roaster.

3. Remove the shells when the beans have cooled. The hard, brown shells usually crack from the heat of the oven, making it easier to peel them off the beans. Otherwise, crack the beans with a hammer and then remove the shells.

4. Pour the beans into a mortar and use a pestle to break them into pieces. If you don't have a mortar, spread a layer of beans between two towels and use a rolling pin to break the beans.

5. Pour the beans into a hand grinder. Grind the beans until they are as small as the grinder will allow and then pour them back into the mortar. Pound the beans with the pestle until the pieces become mushy.

6. Heat some water and pour it into a large bowl. Put the mushy beans in a smaller bowl and place the smaller bowl in the water to warm up.

7. Pour the beans back into the mortar and pound until the cocoa is liquefied and fairly smooth. Measure half a pound of sugar for every pound of cocoa. Add the sugar gradually, tasting along the way, until the mixture is as sweet as you want it.

8. Pour the chocolate into molds and leave it to set in a cool place.

Tips & Warnings

• You can avoid the process of removing the husks from the cocoa beans if you purchase beans that have been skinned. If you are roasting a large amount of cocoa beans you will need a drum. You can roast the beans by rotating the drum over a fire.

Resources

• Visit Gohunza.com for whole cocoa beans.
• Purchase cocoa beans from International Organics