Recipe: How to make chocolate at home

This is from someone online called cacaoguy (which would lead one to believe he knows his stuff.)

Chocolate can be made at home - sort of. The sweet, smooth chocolate we are used to is very difficult to make and generally takes large amounts of machinery. However, if you can find raw cocoa (cacao) beans - hint: they are available on line at www.stoneandgiacomotto.com - you can make a rough chocolate to taste.

First, you have to roast the beans (about 400 degrees for about 1/2 hour). Then you have to remove the husks which is a tedious process, but should be easy to do once the roasted beans have cooled.

Then using a mortar and pestle, break the cocoa beans into bits. Take the bits and grind them in a spice grinder (it makes a mess so be prepared to clean). Once they are finely gound they will begin to liquefy. Don't grind them too much or you will have problems cleaning your grinder.

At this point, it's up to you how long you want to grind by hand. The longer you grind, the smoother it will get. Using a mortar and pestle, grind the beans more by hand. Then heat the mixture in a pan for a few minutes. Then repeat the grinding process in the mortar.

At this point, the goop should be pretty smooth. Now you add spices - sugar (about 1/4 cup per pound of beans) and vanilla (real bean seeds do best, but extract is okay). Then add some cinnamon, tarragoon, chili powder or something other exotic spice that you might never think of in chocolate. You really can get a nice taste with some things you wouldn't think of.

Store the mess in a container and let it set (refrigeration helps). It will be a different experience, but it will bring you closer to the real thing than you get from Hershey's.

Source: rec.food.chocolate