Cocoa bean

Cocoa beans are the seeds of the cocoa tree, which are used to make chocolate. They are extracted from the berries, which are opened at harvest and left to dry. Cocoa beans contain approximately 50% fat called cocoa butter3, 5% water, 7% starch , 4% cellulose, 2% theobromine, 20% other proteins and 6% mineral substances4,1.

After harvest, the cocoa seeds are fermented and dried to produce commercial cocoa beans. For the preparation of cocoa and chocolate, these beans are roasted and degermed by the chocolatiers. Roasting, that is to say heating from 140 to 160°C for 20 to 30 minutes, allows the cocoa aromas to develop (see Maillard reactions). We remove the 50% fat, which we call cocoa butter, for certain aromatic and pharmaceutical uses in particular.