How cocoa powder is made

Ferment and dry the beans

At the farm, beans and pulp are piled to sweat for three to seven days. The pulp ferments and drains away, and the beans turn from pale to brown before they are dried for shipping.

3 to 7 days

Roast the beans

Roasting develops flavor, and time and temperature steer the result. A low roast gives a more acid, aromatic flavor, while a high roast tastes more intense and bitter.

Crack and shell into nibs

Beans are cracked and deshelled, leaving pieces called nibs. The skin is released easily by winnowing after roasting.

Dutch the nibs

For Dutch-process cocoa, nibs are treated with an alkaline solution, most often potassium carbonate in water, then heated under controlled conditions. Alkali raises the pH, which darkens the color and mellows the bitterness.

Grind to liquor

Nibs are ground into a thick paste called cocoa liquor. The cocoa butter in the nibs melts under grinding, which is why the paste flows.

Press out the butter

A hydraulic press squeezes the liquor to separate the cocoa butter from the non-fat solids. The butter goes on to make chocolate. What stays behind is a dry, hard press cake.

Pulverize the cake

The press cake is broken up and ground into a fine powder. Cocoa powder may keep a fat content of around 12 percent.