theo chocolate – seattle, wa

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Jen

Can you guess what my absolute favorite part of Seattle was?! Ok, well, maybe not my absolute
favorite part, but it was a pretty good bonus! On Friday, we visited and toured Theo Chocolate!

Theo Chocolate is located in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. It is a trendy neighborhood

with fun restaurants and shops, including my favorite Homegrown.

We entered into their lobby where they have samples of and sell a variety of their chocolates,
including chocolate bars, truffles, sipping chocolate, etc.

Lots of samples, but we waited for the tour.

After checking everything out, we headed downstairs to learn about chocolate and tour their
facilities. We were armed with hairnets!

We learned a lot about chocolate growing and making throughout the tour. I already knew a lot
of the information from reading Naked Chocolate by David Wolfe and Shazzie (see post here),
but it was interesting to learn about the process that Theo uses.
Theo Chocolate is the only organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the United
States. They use only organic and fair trade ingredients, including the extra ingredients that go
into some of their chocolates, like hazelnuts and ginger.

They buy from the chocolate growing region, which surrounds the equator. Many of their
chocolate bars only use chocolate from one specific region, while others use a mix.

What does Theo mean? Theo comes from the Greek name of the Cacao tree – Theobroma
Cacao, Food of the Gods. Theobromine promotes happiness in people!

Their chocolate is delivered to the factory as cacao beans,

and they start the process completely from scratch.

Backing up a bit…cacao pods grow on trees.

When they turn pretty colors, the pods are ready to be picked. It is imperitive that they are
picked right away, otherwise the beans inside start to rot.

(Source)

Once the pods are pried open, they reveal a white gel-like substance surrounding each bean.

(Source)
The covered beans are then thrown into a barrel and left to ‘rot’, or ‘ferment’. Skipping this step,
causes chocolate to be bitter and unedible. So, fermenting helps the beans (just like wine and

beer!).

Once the beans have fermented, the leftover get is washed away and the beans are shipped to
their various chocolate making locations, including to Theo.

They are shipped in bags, but once at the factory, each bag is sorted threw to make sure the beans
are good and washed. Once they pass the test, the process of making chocolate begins!
D.R. = Dominican Republic

They are roasted here.

Then transfered to the Winnower which seperates the husks from the nibs. The nibs can then
be used as chocolate.

Cacao bean husks

And, Cacao Nibs

Next, the nibs head to the stone mill to get crushed into a paste.

All of the ‘bad paste’ gets dumped out before the paste heads to the mixer.
The mixer is where sugar and/or milk powder is added (for milk chocolate). Then it heads
through the refiner and the conche to minimize the sugar and reduce any acidity.

The chocolate stays in the holding tank until it is tranferred to the tempering machine, which is a
very important step! It binds the butter and solids together. Then, one of two employees adds
any additions and pours the chocolate into molds.
Our next stop, the kitchen where we got to sample lots of goodies!

An employee is making their graham cracker here to be included in the Big Daddy bar.

Everything that goes into their bars and confections is made in their own kitchen. All of the
ingredients are organic as well!

This was made from chocolate scraps.

Theo makes all sorts of chocolate from dark chocolate to milk chocolate. Some favorites are
Chai Tea, Chile Dark, Hazelnut Crunch, Cacao Nib Crunch. They are all delicious!

We had a fantastic time on the tour learning more about chocolate and the chocolate farmers,
along with how Theo chocolate is actually made. It makes me feel good about buying their
chocolate!

asics 101: Chocolate

Posted on October 15, 2010 by PreGel America - Berry Healthy, Issue 8 : Fall 2010
Chocolate: The word alone invokes pleasure for most of us. Its crisp, smooth texture with rich
and bold flavor creates an always-satisfying experience. “Simple Magnificence: The Cacao
Bean” walks us through the origins of chocolate’s fundamental ingredient – the cacao bean. The
process flow diagram ( below) provides an overview of how cacao beans are transformed into
one of the world’s most favored epicurean delights. Chocolate-making is a meticulous craft
backed by hundreds of years of expertise and precision. Understanding the process of chocolate
from the bean to the finished product will have you view your favorite chocolate dessert in a
whole new light.
1. Fermentation Cacao beans are removed from pods and left for about 3–7 days, usually under
banana leaves. Left to ferment too long, the beans may become putrid, while too short a period
results in bitterness and lack of flavor.1
2. Drying The beans are laid out to dry in full sun. Bamboo mats are considered the ideal surface
for bean drying.2
3. Distribution The dried beans are shipped to factories all over the world for further processing.
4. Cleaning & Sorting The cacao beans are washed to eliminate any residue or foreign objects, and
are then dried. Beans from many origins may be combined to create unique flavor profiles.
5. Roasting & Shelling The beans are roasted at a temperature and time relevant for their final
application. Next, a hulling machine removes the outer shell, exposing the interior “nib” of the
bean, which is the portion used to make chocolate. The nibs may undergo alkalization at this
point to enhance flavor and color development.
6. Milling/Grinding The nibs are finely ground into a dark, bitter liquid known as chocolate liquor
or cocoa mass.3 This liquid is then used as an ingredient in chocolate. (Alternately, chocolate
liquor may be pressed to separate it into cocoa powder and cocoa butter, which are used in a
wide-range of food and nonfood applications.)
7. Mixing & Blending Cocoa liquor is mixed with cocoa butter, sugar and milk (in the case of milk
chocolate). Often other flavors such as vanilla extract, or emulsifying ingredients such as
lecithin, may be added during blending, or later in the process. White chocolate does not
contain any chocolate liquor, instead only the cocoa butter.
8. Refining & Conching The mixture is refined by passing through a series of rollers until a smooth
paste is achieved. The next step is conching, a kneading process that improves the smoothness,
texture and aromas of the chocolate, and may take as long as a few days to complete.
9. Tempering Tempering is a highly controlled heating and cooling process that serves to preserve
the quality of the finished chocolate by preventing certain crystalline formations of the cocoa
butter, which appear as fat bloom (the white discoloration of cocoa butter on hardened
chocolate).
10. Molding & Packaging The tempered chocolate may be molded into blocks, bars, chips, drops or
any other desired shape. Other ingredients such as nuts, dried fruit, etc., may be added during
molding. Packaging may be geared towards the retail market or bulk-style for further
processing.
11. Shipping Chocolate is a temperature-sensitive product and therefore shipping must be cool and
controlled. HERSHEY’S® alone distributes more than a billion pounds of chocolate products each
year!4