Chocolate from bean to bar to business
- Chocolate 1016 articles
- Taste and culture4 articles
- Make it at home5 articles
- Chocolate making, professionally6 articles
- Chocolate business12 articles
Chocolate 101 · Guide
How Chocolate Is Made: From Cocoa Bean to Bar
How chocolate is made, step by step: growing, fermenting and drying cocoa on the farm, then roasting, grinding, refining, conching and tempering.
6 articles
Chocolate 101
Cocoa, the types of chocolate, how it is made, and its history.
All of Chocolate 101How Long Does Chocolate Last? Shelf Life and Storage
How long dark, milk and white chocolate last, whether old or bloomed chocolate is safe, and how makers set and label a best-before date.
Is Dark Chocolate Healthy? What the Research Says
What trials and regulators say about dark chocolate and health: cocoa flavanols, blood pressure, heart trials, sugar, and cadmium and lead.
Real Chocolate vs Compound Chocolate: What's the Difference?
Real chocolate is made with cocoa butter; compound uses other vegetable fats. What EU, US and Codex rules say, and how to read the label.
Dark, Milk, White, Ruby: The Types of Chocolate Explained
What dark, milk, white and ruby chocolate are made of, what the percentage on the wrapper means, and what EU and US rules say about each.
4 articles
Taste and culture
Origins, tasting, brands, and chocolate around the world.
All of Taste and cultureChocolate in Turkey: History, Industry and What People Eat
How chocolate reached the Ottoman world, what Turkish food law calls bitter and gianduja, and what the trade data say about cocoa, exports and hazelnuts.
Cocoa Origins Compared: Ghana, Ecuador and Madagascar
How Ghana, Ecuador and Madagascar cocoa differ: varieties, trade, ICCO fine flavor status, flavor claims and how to read an origin label.
- Guide
How to Taste Chocolate Like a Professional
How to taste chocolate step by step: setup, look, snap, smell, melt, flavor and finish, plus words for your notes and how to host a tasting.
The Panda Score: How We Rate Chocolate
How the Panda Score rates chocolate: five criteria and their weights, rounding, the off-flavor cap, a worked example and the blind tasting protocol.
5 articles
Make it at home
Tempering, bonbons, bars and recipes, with fixes for when they go wrong.
All of Make it at homeWhy Did My Chocolate Turn White? Fat Bloom vs Sugar Bloom
Why chocolate turns white or gray, whether bloomed chocolate is safe to eat, and how to tell fat bloom from sugar bloom and prevent both.
How to Choose Chocolate Molds for Home Use
Polycarbonate, silicone, thin plastic, copolyester or metal: how chocolate molds compare on gloss, release and care, and what the pack has to tell you.
How to Make Chocolate Bonbons: A Beginner's Guide
How to make molded chocolate bonbons at home: equipment, a two-day plan, shells, ganache filling, capping, release, storage and gifting.
- Guide
How to Make Chocolate at Home: Where to Start
How to make chocolate at home: the three jobs the phrase can mean, what each needs, a first-project ladder from bark to bonbons, and common fixes.
6 articles
Chocolate making, professionally
Bean-to-bar, refining, conching, tempering at scale, molding and shelf life.
All of Chocolate making, professionally- Guide
Bean-to-Bar Process: Every Step a Chocolate Maker Controls
A maker's guide to the bean-to-bar process: what to measure and decide at each step, from incoming beans to tempering, shelf life and food safety.
Chocolate Molding: Solid, Shell, One-Shot
How chocolate molding works: solid, shell, cold stamping and one-shot compared, plus mold temperature, release, defects and the BPA rules for molds.
Chocolate Refining: Melangers, Roller Refiners, Ball Mills
How refining sets the particle size and mouthfeel of chocolate, and how melangers, roller refiners and ball mills compare on scale, time and flow.
Cocoa Bean Quality Checks: Moisture, Cut Test, Bean Count
How to check cocoa beans on arrival: moisture limits, the ISO cut test, bean count and size, and why trade grades are not a quality bar for chocolate.
12 articles
Chocolate business
Starting a brand or factory: costs, equipment, packaging and regulations.
All of Chocolate business7 Chocolate Brands That Started in a Kitchen or Garage
Seven chocolate brands that began in a home kitchen, garage or living room: where they started, how they first sold, and the step that let them grow.
How Much Does It Cost to Start a Chocolate Business?
What it costs to start a chocolate business: cottage food permits, a couverture shop, a bean-to-bar workshop and a small factory, with dated sources.
Chocolate Equipment RFQ Checklist: 17 Questions to Ask
17 questions to put in a request for quotation for chocolate machines: capacity, utilities, dry cleaning, CE and food contact documents, FAT and SAT.
Chocolate Factory Regulations: EU, US and Turkey
How a chocolate factory registers in the EU, US and Turkey: FDA rules and the FSMA small-business threshold, HACCP, labeling and CE marking for machines.
Chocolate glossary
Short definitions of the terms chocolate makers use.
Chocolate Glossary: 85 Terms Explained