Our Process

1. Harvesting Cacao Pods

Every 2 weeks, we harvest about 1000 to 2000 pods which is roughly about 30 to 60kg of the dry bean weight. There are many way to pick pods from the trees. We use cacao knife and cane knife. It's a hard job. Hard for the neck by looking up all day. Mossys and bees are atacking us all the time. Carrying the harvested pods by 65kg nylon bag to the roadside also be done. Big bag on the shoulder walking on the slipply timber bridge under the heavy rain is tough and hard job for big Fijian even. At this stage, we also select diseased pods(Black Pod) or rats attacked pods. Good treat is to be able to pick I called "cacao mashrooms" (Juda's ear of Ki-kurage) from the jungle. This mashroom become delicacy by coocked or fry with vege. On the road side, we count and select number of pods by different sizes and bean shapes. We also eliminate insect hole, cut failure, black pod, germinated, inmature and extra small ones.

2. Post harvesting process

After the pods are here at our factory site, we store them for the fermentation. Opening the pods and kneeding the fresh beans are also the hard job. It is completely done by hand. Our health inspector required us to break all the pods husks so that we will not increase Dengu disease any larger. We also extract juice for making cacao jams and fermented juice at this stage.

3. Fermentation

Many seacrets involve in this process. But the goal of the game is to make the beans properly fermented. I would say 60% of the taste of the chocolate is determined by this process. Fermentation is the amazing part of the nature's work. We wouldn't need to hire or pay Mr. Mrs bacteria to do their jobs. They do it by natural process. Oh, banana leaves and Dalo leaves help our orchestra. Human contribution would be the time management, setting ideal conditions, smell and taste sensing, tempareture and moisture management, and air circulation. Oh importantly, keep wild pigs away too. Like all other productions, continuouse cleaning and washing of the equipments are the crutial factors for making good chocolates. Fermentation is like joint orkestra between nature and human. Different purple color with differnent smell and taste, cold night needs extra jackets, all must under control to have our desired chocolate taste and aroma.

4. Sun Dry

After 2-4 days of fermentation (depend on the required taste formula, beans shapes), we open the fermentation box. Washing the beans and spread on the dry mesh decks. Complete dry may take up to 5-6 days. At this stage, we prey for Siga (Sun or Taiyo). But if it even rain, Fiji's RH never get more than 85% means al teast 15% of the moisture should evapolate. We try to dry down to 1-2% moisture content. We keep our beans in Japanese tea box at humidity control room. Nice and dry

5. Roasting

We use oven roast. 150-240 degree for 3-4hrs. At this stage, we start feel like making chocolates. I would say roasting process determine another 35% of the chocolate taste.

6. Winnowing
Winnowing is the process to take out outer skin of the cacao beans by cracking down to the nibs and blowing away the husks. We use South Pacific uncontaminated sea breeze for our winnowing. About 20% of the dry bean waight are lost at this stage. Cacao husks are gethered to the compose post for the fertilizer for our vegitable garden.

7. Grinding

Roasted cacao nibs must be grinded quickly otherwise the taste will change, the moisture gets back, ants comes in. We try to grind the roasted cacao nibs right after the winnowing to make the fresh taste. The grinded nibs are called cacao liquor. All the liquor are placed in the container to temper for the storage.

8. Cacao butter

Roasted cacao nibs are also placed on our specially designed butter press to squeeze cacao butter. Whatever left will be the cocoa. To make a pure yellow butter, we need to filter out the dark part.

9. Conching

Solid cacao liquor is put into to the chocolate melter. After the liquor temparature rise up to the complete melt temp, we pour the hot liquor into our classical stone grinder. We put cacao butter and Fiji cane sugar into this process. Conching will last 3-4 days, day and night. Conching makes fine and smooth texture and nutralize the acidity, astingency, fermentation aroma, and moisture.

10. Tempering

After checking the particle size down to 5-20micron, Fine grinded liquor will transfer to the temparature controlled stainless pot for the temparing. We use hand temparing.

11. Moulding

Tempered chocolate will be poured into the chocolate bar moulds and quickly apply the vibration to get lid of the micro bubbles. All done by hand.

12. Cooling and De-moulding

Moulded chocolate will be transfered to the cooling tunnel for 2 hours and demould for the setting back to the room temparature.

13. Packaging
We heat seal and package the bars at our bacteria free clean room with extream dry humidity controled air.

14. Aging

Fresh chocolate doesn't have relaxed taste or snappyness even though great aroma. We store the bars at our temparature and moisture controlled room for at lease 2-4 weeks to age.

15. Shipping

Sending our chocolate is just like Isa Lei (farewell) our kids who have never left our home to some place completely unknown. We tell them " Truly brave is the chocolate which is strong when standing alone and make people happy." It takes 170 days from blossom to the harvest. 3 days for the fermentation, 7 days for the sundry, 5 days for the processing, 14 more days for the aging. We have been a part of the great natural orchestra for more than 200 days. It 's very hard not to love cacaos, and chocolates. That's why the chocolates are special, obssessive and seductive. We name each of our cocolate bar for the memory of our hometown Savusavu Fiji. We do this because we simply love our nature and continuous hope for everyone's happiness.

During the processing, many people change personality because of the love chemical called "Theobromine" from the chocolate. It's food of evil. But we do train spiritually and physically not let anyone to lick or to do the unhygine activities.Some people says we are chocolatier but we believe we are the chocolate composer like art of the music.