5-Crushing and conching

Now it's time to grind the clean fragments. The nibs are placed in a mixer, consisting of a tank in which the nibs are crushed between two granite wheels which rotate on a granite platform also rotating.

Tightening the screw increases the grinding force to obtain a smoother substance.

I then add a little cocoa butter to give a silkier final texture. Finally, I add the organic cane sugar. Depending on the wear of the wheels, the tightness of the screw which adjusts the grinding pressure, the quantity of nibs and sugar, this process can last from 48 to 144 hours!!! In this type of mixer, conching (refining process by brewing) is carried out simultaneously with grinding.