Cocoa mill

The kernel is ground in two steps. These are called pre-grinding and fine grinding. During fine grinding, the grinding stock goes through a rotary column, in which there are many small metal balls. This is a so-called, ball grinding mill. The two-way friction of the grinding procedure tears apart the broken cocoa kernels’ cell tissue.
The frictional heat that arises through the grinding process releases the cocoa butter contained in cocoa beans. This creates a liquid, dark-brown, aromatic mass, which smells of chocolate. This is called cocoa mass. At this point, processing methods differ, depending on whether chocolate or cocoa powder is being produced.