How Chocolate is Made — From Bean to Bar at Our Mijas Factory

You've eaten thousands of chocolate bars in your life. But do you know how one is actually made? Not in the Willy Wonka sense — in the real, tangible, here's-a-cacao-pod-and-here's-how-it-becomes-chocolate sense.

The answer is more fascinating than most people expect. And at Mayan Monkey in Mijas Pueblo, you can see — and do — several of these steps yourself.

The Journey of a Cacao Bean

1. Growing

Cacao trees grow in a narrow band around the equator — roughly 20 degrees north and south. They need heat, humidity, shade, and rainfall. The main growing regions are West Africa (Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire), Central and South America (Ecuador, Colombia, Peru), and Southeast Asia. The trees produce large, colourful pods that grow directly from the trunk — which looks bizarre if you've never seen it.

Inside each pod: 30–50 cacao beans surrounded by a sweet, white pulp.

2. Fermentation

This is where flavour begins. Fresh cacao beans are piled into wooden boxes or heaped on banana leaves and left to ferment for 3–7 days. The pulp breaks down, generating heat (up to 50°C), and a complex series of chemical reactions transforms the beans from bitter and astringent to something recognisably chocolatey. Without fermentation, chocolate as we know it wouldn't exist.

3. Drying

After fermentation, the beans are spread out in the sun to dry — usually for 5–7 days. This halts fermentation and reduces moisture to about 7%, making the beans stable for shipping. In many origins, this is still done by hand on raised bamboo racks or concrete patios.

4. Roasting

This is where the magic happens. Roasting develops the flavour compounds created during fermentation — the Maillard reaction and caramelisation transform the dried beans into something rich, complex, and deeply aromatic. Different roast profiles bring out different characteristics: lighter roasts preserve fruity and floral notes; darker roasts emphasise chocolate, caramel, and nutty tones.

In our Masterclass workshop, you roast raw cacao beans yourself. The smell is unforgettable — a deep, earthy, almost smoky aroma that fills the room.

5. Winnowing

The roasted beans are cracked open and the shells removed, leaving "nibs" — small, crunchy pieces of pure cacao. Nibs are about 55% cocoa butter and have an intense, bitter-chocolate flavour. They're the raw material for everything that follows.

6. Grinding and Conching

The nibs are ground into a thick paste called "chocolate liquor" (no alcohol involved). This is then refined and conched — a process of continuous mixing and aeration that smooths out the texture and develops the final flavour profile. Industrial conching takes 12–72 hours. The result is smooth, flowing chocolate ready for the next step.

7. Tempering

Tempering is controlled crystallisation. Chocolate contains cocoa butter, which can crystallise in six different forms (I through VI). Only Form V gives chocolate its characteristic snap, shine, and smooth melt. Tempering involves carefully heating, cooling, and reheating the chocolate to encourage Form V crystals to form.

This is the step you do in our workshops. You work with pre-tempered chocolate and learn how to maintain its temper while moulding — keeping it at the right working temperature so it sets with a professional finish.

8. Moulding and Setting

The tempered chocolate is poured into moulds — polycarbonate moulds for bonbons and bars, silicone moulds for figures. Toppings, fillings, and decorations are added. Then it sets — properly tempered chocolate contracts slightly as it crystallises, releasing cleanly from the mould with a glossy surface and satisfying snap.

See It. Make It. Taste It.

At Mayan Monkey, the bean-to-bar journey isn't just a poster on the wall. You experience parts of it yourself:

• Bonbons & Bars workshop (35 min, from €35): Tempering, moulding, filling, decorating. Make professional-quality bars and bonbons.
• MMM Masterclass (2h+, from €135): Roast raw cacao beans, grind them into hot chocolate, make advanced bonbons, and taste the result alongside wine. The full journey in one session.

We also roast speciality coffee on-site, so you can see another bean-to-product journey happening in parallel — and taste the results.

Visit the Factory

We're at Plaza Virgen de la Peña 15, Mijas Pueblo. Open daily 10:30am – 6:00pm (until 9pm in summer). Everything you make goes home with you.

Once you know how chocolate is made, you never look at a bar the same way again.