Kibbling/Shelling

This operation consists of separating the shell from the nib. The pre-dried cocoa beans are sent to the breaker; a sort of mechanical mill, and are broken into large particles. These are then tipped on to a cascade of sieves, known as ‘tarares’ or ‘winnowers’, with decreasing mesh sizes. On each sieve, the seed coat, germ and shell are sucked out by air and amassed on one side. Compressed and granulated they will be used as fertiliser or in cattle feed. Once this operation is completed, only the all-important cocoa nib remains which then goes on for roasting.