ChocolateFactory / Crushing & grinding
Crunchy nibs
In the crushing plant the freshly roasted and hot beans are removed from their shells and broken into small pieces - the cocoa nibs.
Crushing plant
Cocoa nibs
Cocoa shells
Massive mills
Afterwards the nibs move on to the cocoa mill where they are decomposed into their physical components. The cocoa butter is discharged and melts due to the friction heat. In this way a liquid mass which looks like chocolate but is not yet chocolate is created. This cocoa mass is further refined in the ball mill. If you tasted this raw product, it would leave a sandy feeling in your mouth because the cocoa bean particles may be felt even with a size of 30/100 mm.
Preliminary mill
Ball mill
Raw cocoa pasta
