Fond Doux’s
Experience the heart of St. Lucia’s cocoa traditions on our Chocolate Heritage Tour, where you’ll follow the full journey from bean to bar on our working plantation. Discover how centuries-old techniques come to life as you learn, taste, and participate in the art of chocolate-making in a truly one-of-a-kind island setting.
COCOA
Fermenting
After the ripe cocoa pods over the plantation have been harvested, they are cracked open and the sweet, slimy cocoa beans, also known as jungle M&M’s are placed inside of the fermentery boxes, covered with boards and banana leaves then left to ferment for a period of 8 to 10 days. During this fermentation period, the natural bacteria and yeast in the air decomposes the pulp coating the beans into cocoa vinegar.
COCOA
Drying
After the cocoa beans have been fermented they are placed onto the drying trays and left to dry in the sun for a period of 8 to 10 weeks. During this drying period, any time it begins to rain the beans have to be wheeled back in to the cocoa shelter to prevent them from getting wet, since the cocoa beans get spoiled once they get wet, especially after fermentation.
COCOA
Dancing
After the beans have been dried for the first period of 2 to 3 weeks, they are placed inside of a large metal pot which is known as a cauldron. An estate worker then scrapes the outer part of a young cocoa pod into a container and adds some water to it. This then forms a slimy mixture, which is sprinkled over the beans, in order to help preserve the beans and it also acts as a natural lubricant.
After the beans have been coated with the mixture, an estate worker gets into the pot barefooted and dances on the beans for thirty minutes. This dance is called the Cocoa-rina dance and it is carried out in order to polish the beans and remove any blemishes. This procedure also enables the beans to be shelled easier. After the beans have been danced on they are placed back onto the drying trays and when the second drying period is completed, the beans are now 100% cocoa.
COCOA
Roasting
After the beans have been dried completely, they are placed inside of an oven and roasted for approximately 40 minutes. The beans are roasted to enhance the flavor and to loosen the shell on the cocoa beans. The beans are then placed in a cooling machine.
COCOA
Grinding
After cooling, the roasted cocoa beans are then placed inside a grinder, which grinds the beans into a coarse mixture of the cocoa beans and cocoa nibs.
COCOA
Extraction
After the coarse mixture of cocoa nibs and shells is acquired, the mixture is placed inside a device which is fitted with a vacuum that separates the shell from the bits of cocoa.
COCOA
Powdering
The pure cocoa nibs are placed inside a blender and ground into a fine cocoa powder. The powder which is obtained from this process is 100% cocoa free from any artificial chemicals.
THE Chocolate
Mixing
The pure cocoa powder is combined with cocoa butter and granulated sugar in special machine, which mixes the ingredients for at least 24 hours.
THE Chocolate
Tempering
After the chocolate has been completely mixed, it is extracted from the machine in a semi liquid form. This mixture is then tampered on a large metal surface using two spatulas until the mixture reaches the right consistency.
THE Chocolate
Molding
After the chocolate mixture has reached the right consistency, it is transferred to the chocolate molds and then placed in the refrigerator, where it is left to solidify. The finished product is 100% organic chocolate.
Chocolate Gallery
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