How Chocolate Is Made
Cocoa beans come from cocoa pods that grow on cocoa
trees! The cocoa tree grows in warm, humid places near the Equator. For it to thrive there has got to be guaranteed rainfall and fertile soil. Ghana
the Ivory Coast, Brazil and Nigeria are examples of perfect places to grow the
cocoa bean.
A cocoa tree looks a bit like an apple tree
but has broader, rich green leaves. It flowers and fruits all year round, and
produces large cocoa pods that sprout from tree trunks and main branches. Each
tree only has 20-30 pods a year. Take a look inside the pods and you’d see
30-40 seeds sitting in a white pulp like cotton wool these are the cocoa beans.
It takes a whole year’s crop from one tree to make 454 grams of cocoa. There
are three main types of cocoa: Forastero, Criollo and Trinitario, trinitario is
a mix between the first two types.
Cadbury
get their cocoa from Ghana in West Africa, where the main harvesting period is
October to December. When they’re ripe, the cocoa pods turn a rich golden
color. They’re cut down from the trees and split open, and the pulp and beans
are removed from the outside husk.
Link : The
cocoa beans are sent to Chirk in Wales.
Thomas John Woodward stage name- Tom Jones is a famous welsh singer. Born
on the 7th of June 1940 in pontypridd which was an important town
for the transportation of coal. His Father Thomas Woodward was a Coal miner.
Coal Mining In Pontypridd:
The history of Pontypridd is closely tied to the coal and iron industries, prior to the developments of these Pontypridd was largely a rural blackwater comprising a few farmsteads, with Tree forest initially becoming the main urban settlement in the area. Sited as it is at the junction of the three valleys, it became an important location for the transportation of coal from the Rhondda and iron from Merthyr Tydfil, first via the Glamorganshire Canal and later via the Taff Vale Railway, to the ports at Cardiff, Barry and to Newport. Because of its role in transporting coal cargo, its railway platform is thought to have once been the longest in the world during its heyday. Pontypridd was in the second half of the 19th century a hive of industry, and was once nicknamed the 'Wild West’
The history of Pontypridd is closely tied to the coal and iron industries, prior to the developments of these Pontypridd was largely a rural blackwater comprising a few farmsteads, with Tree forest initially becoming the main urban settlement in the area. Sited as it is at the junction of the three valleys, it became an important location for the transportation of coal from the Rhondda and iron from Merthyr Tydfil, first via the Glamorganshire Canal and later via the Taff Vale Railway, to the ports at Cardiff, Barry and to Newport. Because of its role in transporting coal cargo, its railway platform is thought to have once been the longest in the world during its heyday. Pontypridd was in the second half of the 19th century a hive of industry, and was once nicknamed the 'Wild West’
Interesting connection between cocoa beans and Wales. Pity you didn't make the other 3 connections required for the project though.
ReplyDeleteHave a good summer.
Mrs L :)