Roasting Cocoa

The Chocolate maker develops the flavour of the chocolate primarily in the roasting process, deciding to capture or maintain the fermentation volatiles or develop them more fully with a deeper chocolate transformation.

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At York Cocoa Works as a Chocolate Maker it is important for us to work with the whole cocoa bean for our chocolate making journey.

The chocolate transformation starts with the roasting process. We develop flavour by heating the cocoa beans, first to remove the moisture and then to the point when the all important Maillard reaction starts to take place. It's at around 116ºC - 120ºC that the acids and vinegars from fermentation start cooking, creating the aroma that we recognise as chocolate.

Cocoa beans with floral and fruity aromas tend to only need a gentle roasting experience to maintain their distinctive flavours, whereas cocoa that is high in acidity will transform to a deep chocolate flavour with a higher roasting profile.

By roasting each cocoa bean whole we maintain a full range of flavours that will later be developed further in the chocolate making process.

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