Cacao trees
Cocoa is the fruit of the cacao tree. There are around fifteen different types, including the Criello, the Forastero and the Trinidario. Six tropical countries account for almost 80% of world production: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Brazil, Malaysia, Cameroon and Nigeria. The cacao tree produces large fruits, pods, containing the cocoa beans. Machetes are used to harvest the pods in November.

Processing of the beans
The pods are broken open and the beans are fermented for three to four hours before being left to dry in the sun for three weeks. This is the time the cocoa beans develop their typical taste. The beans are then shipped to Belgium, where they are processed in various ways. After cleaning the beans are roasted and skinned. The kernels are ground, which releases the cocoa mass (mixture of cocoa powder and cocoa butter). Then the different ingredients (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder, soya lecithin) needed to obtain the type of chocolate are put in the mixer (conching) to produce what is known as couverture chocolate.

Manufacturers
In Belgium there are two major couverture chocolate manufacturers supplying the various markets (ice-cream makers, chocolate makers, confectioners). These are Barry-Callebaut, which has the largest production plant in the world, and Belcolade, which is part of the Puratos group. Also deserving of a mention is Côte d'or, which turns cocoa into chocolate only for its own needs.

Chocolate varieties
The taste of the chocolate depends on the mixture of cocoa beans from different sources, each of which have their own qualities. There are more than 500 kinds of couverture chocolate, forming three main families: dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate.