Why Is Chocolate So Expensive

Let’s start with how the cocoa beans are created. The beans grow on trees and it can take up to five years for the cocoa tree to actually start generating it’s infamous beans. The beans are very tiny and delicate, which is why they are not picked from the tree by a machine, but instead by hand. The beans are produced in pods, which are what is actually removed from the tree.

Once the cocoa bean pods have been removed from the tree, then they are removed from the pod, also by hand and shipped to the main buyer. These buyers are part of the Coffee, Sugar, and Cocoa Exchange.

From there candy manufactures, exporters, cocoa importers and trade reps purchase the cocoa beans by contract from the publicly traded futures market. Many times the cocoa beans are actually bought before they are even picked from the tree. When this happens, the beans are harvested and shipped to the place that has the contract for them.

This is where the consumer comes into the life of the cocoa beans. The same beans may be bought and sold many times before a consumer, such as you or I can purchase them at the store.

Some cocoa beans are sorted and cleaned before they ever get to the store. Unless they are being sold to a candy factory, where the cleaning takes place at the factory. However it’s still wise to clean and sort them, because not all places complete this step before selling to the consumer. Another thing that should be done is allowing the beans to dry completely before roasting or using them.

Although the candy factories are created for mass production of chocolate, the real cost is in the bean itself from the growing and harvesting process. Due to the fact these two steps are done by hand and not machines, there are extensive labor costs involved due to the manual intensive work.

To make the cost a bit easier to swallow the next time you purchase cocoa beans or that fine chocolate, remember what all went into bringing them to you in the first place. This will help make it a bit justifiable to buy.

Another thing to consider, when buying mass produced chocolate, it is normally cheaper than making your own chocolate from cocoa beans. Seventeen ounces of pure chocolate costs approximately the same as eight ounces of cocoa beans.

Click here to
Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half