How is chocolate made?

Chocolate is made from cacao seeds. Workers take the seeds from pods, ferment and dry them, then roast them until their flavor deepens. The roasted pieces are cracked, ground into a dark paste, mixed with sugar and sometimes milk, then smoothed and cooled into bars.

The surprising bit is that the tree's seeds start out sharp and pale, not candy-like at all. Heat, microbes, grinding, and patient stirring bring out the chocolate taste. Tempering helps the finished chocolate set with a neat snap and a shiny surface.