"How does a cacao bean become chocolate?"—Before the whitish raw beans taken from the fruit transform into the brown chocolate we know, they pass through several processing steps. Fermentation, drying, sorting, roasting, grinding, mixing, conching, tempering, molding—each step has its own specific temperature, time, and technique, and if any is done poorly, the flavor and texture are greatly affected.
本記事では、カカオ豆の加工工程を「生産地での一次加工」「工場での二次加工」「チョコレート仕上げ工程」の3段階に分けて解説します。カカオニブ・カカオマス・ココアバター・ココアパウダーの違い、テンパリングのメカニズム、品質管理のポイントまで、業務担当者が押さえるべき要点をまとめました。
From Cacao Bean to Chocolate: An Overview of the Processing Steps
First, let's grasp the overall picture of the processing steps. Before cacao beans become chocolate, different treatments are carried out in two locations: the harvest area and the factory.
| Stage | Location | Main Steps | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Processing | Growing Region | Harvest → pulp removal → fermentation → drying | Create the foundation of flavor and reduce moisture |
| Secondary Processing | Factory | Sorting → roasting → grinding → separation | Produce cacao nibs, cacao mass, and cocoa butter |
| Finishing | Factory | Mixing → conching → tempering → molding | Completed as chocolate |
カカオ豆の風味の土台は一次加工（発酵・乾燥）で作られ、二次加工以降はその風味を引き出し・整えていく工程です。「美味しいチョコレートを作るためには良いカカオ豆が必要」と言われるのは、この発酵段階の品質が後工程で取り戻せないためです。
Primary Processing at the Growing Region: Fermentation and Drying Determine the Flavor
The raw beans taken from the cacao fruit (pod) first undergo fermentation and drying at the growing region. This primary processing is the starting point that creates the base flavor of chocolate.
Harvesting and Pulp Removal
カカオの果実は1年に2回収穫されます。完熟したポッドを枝から切り落とし、ナタで割って中の生豆を取り出します。1つのポッドに40〜50粒の生豆が、白いパルプ（果肉）に包まれて入っています。この時点の生豆は白っぽい色や紫色をしており、チョコレートの香りはまだありません。
Fermentation: The 5–7 Days That Create the Core of Flavor
The removed raw beans, still in their pulp, are placed in wooden boxes or covered with banana leaves and fermented over 5–7 days. Yeast, lactic acid bacteria, and acetic acid bacteria break down the sugars in the pulp, and as the temperature rises to 40–50°C, precursors specific to chocolate (compounds that become the basis of flavor) are generated inside the raw beans.
発酵が不十分だと、青臭さや渋味が残ったまま完成品になります。逆に発酵が長すぎると、酢酸臭や腐敗臭が出てしまいます。産地ごとに発酵方法（木箱式・ヒープ式・バナナ葉式など）が異なり、これがそのままカカオの個性として現れます。発酵管理の良し悪しは、カカオの品質を大きく左右します。
乾燥｜カビや劣化が起きにくい水分まで下げる
発酵後は天日または機械で乾燥させ、カビや品質劣化が起きにくい水分まで下げます。乾燥が早すぎても遅すぎても風味に影響するため、温度管理と時間配分が品質に直結します。乾燥が完了した時点で、ようやく「カカオ豆」として国際市場に出荷できる状態になります。
Secondary Processing at the Factory: Sorting, Roasting, and Grinding
Exported cacao beans enter secondary processing at chocolate factories around the world. Through the three steps of sorting, roasting, and grinding, cacao beans are transformed into an intermediate material called "cacao nibs."
Sorting and Foreign-Matter Removal
Cacao beans arriving at the factory are first sorted by size, weight, and shape, and foreign matter such as stones, metal fragments, and fiber debris is removed. Optical sorters and magnet-based removal devices are used, and thorough sorting is carried out so as not to damage machinery in the later roasting and grinding steps. Because uneven particle size causes uneven roasting, this is work that directly affects quality.
焙煎（ロースト）｜香りが生まれる工程
選別したカカオ豆を焙煎します。焙煎条件はカカオ豆の状態、設備、狙う風味によって変わります。焙煎中に糖とアミノ酸のメイラード反応、糖のカラメル化が進み、生豆の段階では存在しなかった「チョコレート特有の香り」が生まれます。
Changing the roasting temperature by just 10°C greatly alters the final chocolate's flavor. Dark roasting increases bitterness and richness, while light roasting leaves a fruity acidity and delicate aroma. Designing a roasting profile to match the product's intended direction is one of the differentiating factors of bean-to-bar chocolate.
Grinding Into Cacao Nibs
After roasting, the outer husk is removed from the cacao beans and the interior is coarsely crushed. This coarsely crushed material is "cacao nibs." Cacao nibs are pure cacao with no sugar added, used as a confectionery ingredient in granola, cookies, ganache decoration, and more. The particle size varies by manufacturer, and you can choose from coarse types around 5mm to fine types of 2mm or less.
Producing Cacao Mass, Cocoa Butter, and Cocoa Powder
By further processing cacao nibs, three ingredients familiar on the confectionery floor—cacao mass, cocoa butter, and cocoa powder—are produced. Let's organize the differences and uses of each.
Cacao Mass: A Paste of Ground Nibs
Grinding cacao nibs into a smooth paste produces "cacao mass (cacao liquor)." The fat (cocoa butter) contained in the cacao beans melts from frictional heat, becoming a flowing liquid. When cooled, it hardens and becomes the prototype of what we call dark chocolate. Set without added sugar, it is sold as "100% cacao chocolate."
Cocoa Butter: The Fat Pressed Out of Cacao Mass
When cacao mass is pressed under high pressure, the fat "cocoa butter," which accounts for about half its weight, separates out. Cocoa butter has a distinctive melting characteristic—solid at room temperature and melting at body temperature (around 36°C)—and is the ingredient that gives chocolate its smooth melt-in-the-mouth quality and gloss. It is also used as a raw material for cosmetics and lip balm.
Cocoa Powder: Grinding the Defatted Solids
Grinding the remaining solids (cacao cake) after cocoa butter has been pressed out produces "cocoa powder." The fat content drops to about 10–25%, becoming a smooth powder. It is widely used as a flavor ingredient for cocoa drinks, baked goods, and confectionery. Alkalized (Dutch-process) treatment deepens the color and reduces acidity, and it is used alongside the natural process for different purposes.
The Finishing Steps to Complete Chocolate
Cacao mass is mixed with sugar, cocoa butter, and dairy ingredients (in the case of milk chocolate), and enters the finishing steps that bring out smoothness and gloss. Conching and tempering are the final steps that determine chocolate quality.
Conching: Kneading That Refines Flavor and Texture
「コンチング」は、混合したチョコレート原料を温度をかけながら長時間練り続ける工程です。練り時間は短くて数時間、長いと72時間以上におよびます。この工程で揮発性の酸味成分が飛び、粒子の周りに油脂がなじんで、なめらかな口当たりとまろやかな風味が生まれます。コンチングの長さは、チョコレートメーカーごとの個性を決める設計変数です。
Tempering: Temperature Adjustment to Stabilize the Crystal Structure
「テンパリング」は、ココアバターの結晶構造を安定させるための温度調整工程です。チョコレートを溶かしてから温度を下げ、再び少し上げるという温度調整を行います。テンパリング条件はダーク、ミルク、ホワイトなどの種類や使用原料で異なるため、原料メーカーの指定条件に従います。これにより、6種類あるココアバターの結晶のうち、安定したV型結晶が形成され、艶のある光沢、パリッとした食感、口どけの良さが実現します。
If tempering is done poorly, a white powder (fat bloom) can appear on the surface, or the melt in the mouth can become poor. It is a step where handmade chocolate often fails, but in commercial production it is automatically controlled by a tempering machine.
Molding and Cooling
The tempered chocolate is poured into molds and lightly vibrated to remove air bubbles. It is cooled to around 18°C in a cooling tunnel, and once hardened, it is removed from the mold and complete. After molding, it is wrapped and packaged and delivered to consumers.
Quality Control and Safety Standards in Cacao Bean Processing
Because cacao bean processing handles a naturally derived material, quality control and safety standards are set strictly. Confectionery manufacturers should confirm their suppliers' management systems in advance.
Checking for Mycotoxins and Pesticide Residues
Cacao beans carry the risk of ochratoxin A (a type of mycotoxin) being generated by mold during storage. In major markets such as the EU, limit values are set, and inspections are carried out on import. Pesticide residues are also subject to checks, and when selecting a reliable supplier, confirming reports from third-party inspection agencies is standard practice.
Managing Cadmium Content
カカオ豆には、栽培土壌から植物が吸収するカドミウムが含まれることがあります。EUでは2019年1月からカカオ・チョコレート製品のカドミウム基準値が適用され（現行は規則(EU)2023/915）、産地によっては基準超過のロットが流通停止になる事例もあります。中南米産（特にエクアドル・ペルー）はカドミウム含有量が高めとされ、業務用ロットでは産地別の検査値確認が必要です。
The Importance of Traceability
Traceability from a cacao bean's origin to the processing factory is emphasized not only for quality control but also from the standpoints of sustainable sourcing, fair-trade certification, and combating child labor. As the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and various countries' sustainability regulations are strengthened, choosing a supplier whose history—from producer to final product—is visible is essential from the standpoint of brand protection.
美濃与の和のカカオについて
伏見の大豆焙煎所
美濃与は明治35年（1902年）創業、京菓子原材料を120年間扱ってきた老舗です。令和元年（2019年）からは、伏見のSoybean Roasteryで生の国産大豆を仕入れ、焙煎から製粉までを自社で行っています。
大豆珈琲の副産物からできたカカオ代替素材
「Japanese cacao」は、大豆珈琲をつくる際に出る副産物（豆粕・微粉）を原料にしたカカオ代替素材で、パウダーでご用意しています。
As a Hedge Against Raw-Material Sourcing Risk
カカオ価格が上がるなかで、大豆珈琲の副産物からつくる国産の代替素材を試してみる選択肢もあります。サンプルのご請求・ご相談はContactormaterial downloadfor sample trials and small-lot consultations. Our overall efforts across the business are covered atOur Business & Why We Are Chosen, and the ordering process is summarized atOrdering Process & How to Order.
Frequently asked questions
Q1. What is the difference between cacao nibs and cacao mass?
Cacao nibs are simply roasted cacao beans that have been coarsely crushed, while cacao mass is cacao nibs further ground into a paste. Cacao nibs are used where a granular texture is desired (granola, cookies), and cacao mass where smoothness is needed (chocolate, ganache).
Q2. Why is tempering necessary?
Cocoa butter has six crystal forms, and unless the stable form-V crystal is formed, problems occur such as the surface turning white (fat bloom), poor melt in the mouth, and loss of gloss. Tempering is temperature-profile control to selectively create the form-V crystal, and in commercial production it is generally handled by an automatic machine.
Q3. Can a poor fermentation step be recovered later?
It cannot be recovered. Because there are limits to correcting it in later roasting or conching, the basic principle is to source from regions and suppliers that carry out reliable fermentation management.
Q4. Are cocoa butter and cacao butter different things?
They are the same thing. In Japan it is often written as "cocoa butter," while overseas it is called "cacao butter." It is the fat extracted from cacao beans, with a distinctive melting characteristic—solid at room temperature, melting at body temperature—and it is the ingredient that supports chocolate's melt in the mouth.
Q5. Is it possible to process cacao beans domestically?
輸入したカカオ豆を国内工場で焙煎・粉砕・チョコレート化することは一般的に行われています。一方、国内でのカカオ栽培は沖縄や小笠原などで取り組みがありますが、生産量はごく限られています。
Summary: Understanding the Processing Steps Improves the Precision of Ingredient Selection
The cacao bean processing steps consist of three stages: fermentation and drying at the growing region (primary processing), sorting, roasting, and grinding at the factory (secondary processing), and conching, tempering, and molding (finishing). The core of the flavor is created in primary processing, and the subsequent steps follow a flow of drawing out and refining that flavor.
製菓メーカーの仕入れ担当者にとっては、各工程の意味を理解することで、サプライヤー選定・サンプル評価・配合設計の精度が上がります。カカオ高騰局面では、大豆珈琲の副産物からつくる国産の代替素材を併用するという選択肢もあります。Contactから和のカカオのサンプルのご請求を受け付けています。
References and sources
- Cadmium regulations (EU limit values):EUR-Lex 委員会規則(EU)2023/915
