The artisanal elaboration of chocolate is an art and something to be appreciated. Watching the transformation from cocoa bean to chocolate bar is quite a spectacle. If you want to see it you can’t miss the Museu de la Xocolata.
Advances in food processing and the need to consume foods that are almost ready to eat, or even ready to eat, means that the true origin of what we eat is often not known.
The same applies to chocolate. We all know that it is available in bars at the supermarket, but if you are interested in knowing the real process behind a chocolate bar, you will be able to understand it at the Museu. This beautiful site is a project of Olivier Fernandez, director of the school of the Gremi de Pastisseria de Barcelona and a master of chocolate.
The Museu de la Xocolata with Bean to bar concept
Bean to bar, or “seed to bar”, is a concept that seeks to recover the origin and true flavors of cocoa. And this is what can be seen at the Museu de la Xocolata, a pioneering space in Barcelona and Spain.
The objective is to raise awareness of the background of this delicious product and generate culture. Oliver prepares handmade chocolate bars from cocoa purchased from producers in different countries without intermediaries. From this grain, the whole process of transformation is carried out in the museum.
All the cocoa beans that arrive at the Museum are organic and come from different producing countries. These include Ghana, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Madagascar, New Guinea and Tanzania.
The chocolate process
The first step begins when the cocoa is roasted at a temperature between 115 and 125 degrees. Once roasted, the beans are peeled and then crushed to obtain a paste known as cocoa liquor (but without alcohol).
The paste is then passed to a conching machine where a maximum of 30% of organic white sugar is added, the cocoa granulometry is reduced and the cocoa is oxygenated to give it the final flavor.
The result of the process is a very fine bar of 50 grams of 100% natural chocolate, free of lecithin and cocoa butter, ingredients traditionally used by industrial brands. These are added to achieve homogeneity even though they cause the loss of much of the original flavor.
Join the many households that today in Barcelona were encouraged to make cocoa at home. Lose your fear and discover the real taste of chocolate, the authentic artisan chocolate.
Museu de la Xocolata (Comerç, 36) Barcelona. Open from Monday to Saturday, from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. Sundays and holidays from 10.00h to 15.00h. Free admission.
