Stage One: Roasting

This is very similar to the process still to be seen at some coffee sellers who use an old-fashioned roaster. The seeds are roasted at temperatures ranging from 250°F to 300°F (120°C–150°C) for a duration of 15 to 40 minutes—the chocolate maker will decide what is required to bring out the maximum aromas. Roasting is the final stage of transformation of cocoa, begun a few weeks earlier when the fermentation was carried out at the plantation. The sugars caramelize* and combine with the amino acids to produce the components of the chocolate aroma.