Chocolate is a typically sweet, usually brown, food preparation of Theobroma cacao seeds, roasted and ground, often flavored, as with vanilla. It is made in the form of a liquid, paste or in a block or used as a flavoring ingredient in other sweet foods. Cacao has been cultivated by many cultures for at least three millennia in Mexico and Central America. The earliest evidence of use traces to the Mokaya, with evidence of chocolate beverages dating back to 1900 BC. In fact, the majority of Mesoamerican people made chocolate beverages, including the Mayans and Aztecs, who made it into a beverage known as, a Nahuatl word meaning "bitter water". The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste and must be fermented to develop the flavor.
If you’ve decided to channel your chocolate passion into a home-based business, you’ll want to stay apprised of changing trends in the chocolate market. For instance, be aware of new consumer flavor preferences, says Joan Steuer, owner of chocolate industry forecasting firm Chocolate Marketing. In addition, creative packaging ideas or tie-ins with other products will help you stand out. You'll also need to be vigilant monitoring other industries to identify trends that apply to the chocolate industry, Steuer says. With this knowledge, you'll be set to embark on starting your home business.
After fermentation, the beans are dried, cleaned, and roasted. The shell is removed to produce cacao nibs, which are then ground to cocoa mass, pure chocolate in rough form. Because the cocoa mass is usually liquefied before being molded with or without other ingredients, it is called chocolate liquor. The liquor also may be processed into two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Unsweetened baking chocolate (bitter chocolate) contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, a combination of cocoa solids, cocoa butter or other fat, and sugar.Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk but no cocoa solids.
There are many home based chocolate business ideas to suit all skill levels and every personality. Whether you love working in the kitchen, at the computer, or in front of a group of people, as long as you love chocolate you are sure to find a business idea that appeals to you.
