There are many steps on the road from cacao pod to a chocolate bar. Cacao (Theobroma cacao) is a small, tropical tree that produces football shaped pods full of seeds, referred to as beans. The pods form on the trunk and branches of the tree. They are harvested by hand, cut open and the beans are removed. The beans are fermented for several days to develop their flavor, then dried, roasted, cracked and winnowed to remove the shells. The nibs are the ‘meat’ of the bean. Nibs of various varieties and/or origins are blended to make the desired chocolate. They are ground or crushed to liquefy the cocoa butter and produce chocolate liquor. Next it goes through a roll refiner and other ingredients are added. Conching is done to develop flavor and smoothness, then after tempering, the product is finally ready to make chocolate bars and other delights. There will be samples!