Writing for Children: Journey of a Chocolate Bar

chillibreeze writer — Aparna Nambiar

The sun shone on the board above me. It said, “Chocolate and Candy.” I’m a Hershey’s chocolate bar sitting with my fellow chocolate bars on the shelf of a popular grocery store. I arrived yesterday in a delivery truck from the Hershey’s Sunnyvale factory. I wonder what awaits me. But life so far has been exciting for my friends and me.

Its been a long journey from bean to bar. I cannot imagine I was once a part of a little group of cacao beans. Before I came to Hershey’s Sunnyvale factory, I was one bean among millions of others in a cacao tree plantation in Brazil. As we grew to be bright young beans, cacao farmers picked us by hand, then fermented and dried us all. We were all packed together and sent to the Coffee and Cocoa Exchange to be sold to various companies. They say it is similar to a stock exchange. My friends and I were bought by Hersheys, a popular chocolate manufacturer.

>> Read more

Changing the shape of things…

Then began our life in automated machines being roasted, cracked, pressed and tempered. We were first sorted and cleaned in a cleaning machine. It felt funny in that big noisy machine. Just when I felt I’ve had enough, we were moved into a large rotating oven to be roasted.
I’ve seen hot before but not this hot! And thirty minutes at that!

After the roasting, I looked brown like a coffee bean! Boy, was I tanned! What’s more, my shell was all brittle.

We were kept aside to cool and then put in a giant winnowing machine. Vhrrrrrrr! Our shells were cracked open and the giant fans in the machine blew away the husks. One moment it was hot and the next moment it was cool. We were strained through sieves to separate the nibs from the rest of the bean. It is our nibs that are used to make chocolate. They contain cocoa butter and cocoa solids.

Under pressure…

Now I thought the rest of the journey would be easier. But soon came another machine, a hydraulic press. I sure didn’t like the look of this one! In the press, the cocoa butter part of us was squeezed away and the solid cocoa that remained was made into cocoa powder. Ah, yes! You see us in this form on the shelves of supermarkets! I tickle many a palette too!

We remained as chocolate liquor from the press for a while. Suddenly we had new company. Condensed milk and sugar were added and we were all mixed. Together we formed a coarse brown powder. I overheard people around us refer to us as “crumb.” We were then crushed until we became a really fine paste.

All for one, or one for all…

We were then poured into a vat to be ground again. Some of my friends had had enough. Wonder where we’d be after so long a journey? Our manufacturers wanted us to become fine smooth bars of chocolate. My thought was broken when we were heated again to remove any moisture that was remaining. This process called conching took a really long time. I’ve heard it sometimes even takes up to six days!

Then we were cooled and warmed many times for several hours. They called this tempering. It sure tickled some times! They say this makes chocolate bars snap sharply as you eat them. We were then poured into moulds and allowed to cool and harden. Our journey was almost over. We were packed in well-sealed packages, labelled and loaded into trucks. So here we all were picked, roasted, winnowed, conched, tempered and finally smoothened into one bar of Hersheys waiting for… well… Ah! Here’s a cute little boy at the store counter. Has he come for me?

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.

Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...

---

—About our writer: Aparna says, "Be it age 4 or 80, I like to write for anyone who loves to read and on subjects just as varied. Having specialised in Communication Media for Children and worked for the likes of a leading elearning company in India, I am now looking to do my own thing! I believe its the love of sharing knowledge that drives me to writing, be it for fun, business or education."

 

 

 

>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers:

1. Articles related to Content and Outsourcing
2. NRI and Expat Articles
3. Potpourri
4. Travel Writing
5. Book Reviews and Interviews

More resources for Writers on Chillibreeze.com Chillibreeze offers Indian writers the opportunity to work on customer projects. We are also India’s biggest writer network and a one-stop shop for Indian writers and editors. The writers’ section on Chillibreeze offers freelance writers and editors a variety of tools to advance their careers. Resources for writers include: Assessment of your writing, editing and proofreading skills Writing courses Expert Feedback on your article An opportunity to promote yourself on our website Top websites for Indian writers Tips and resources for Indian freelancers Book Publishing services And more……………….. Explore our writers’ section using the links on our left-hand side menu.