Chocoholic? Then why not watch the journey chocolate goes through before it reaches your belly.

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We all eat, and we all love it, but have you ever wondered how chocolate is made in a factory? If so, then you are in for a real treat (figuratively and literally). 

Let's watch how one Turkish chocolate manufacturer turns basic ingredients into delicious chocolate treats.

Depending on the factory, the first step is to roast and winnow the source cocoa for the chocolate. This involves taking the raw beans and heating them up to develop their distinct color and flavor.

Outer shells are removed, and the coca bean inside is chopped up into small pieces called nibs. These nibs are then usually ground down into a liquid, usually termed a "cocoa liquor", or "cocoa mass".

In this particular factory, the "cocoa mass" is shipped in rather than made on site, so we'll pick up the production process from there.

In this factory, the first step, at least in the case of making milk chocolate, is to mix up the milk portion of the product. While liquid milk can be used, in this case, milk powder is added to large mixing vats.

Once enough powder is added, the machine churns the powder with water to make a smooth mixture. 

These machines act like giant food processors, slowly, but surely, mixing the powder and water into a smooth milky substance. The mixture is then subjected to another round of churning using another machine to further aerate and stir it. 

Then, depending on the type of chocolate to be produced, the cocoa powder is blended with the milk and some sugar until the required texture, flavor, and color is reached. 

While the chocolate is being churned, molds for the chocolates are loaded into another machine. In this case, the molds are to make a series of small chocolate pieces. 

These molds are then fed into a machine ready to move them into place to fill with chocolate. 

At the same time, prepared liquid chocolate is dripped into a special receptacle on the machine ready for pouring into the molds. 

The molds are then loaded onto a special vibrating conveyor belt that feeds them into the chocolate pourer. Liquid chocolate is then dropped into the molds as the molds pass underneath the nozzles.

Once poured, the molds continue on their way through and out of the machine, all the while being vibrated by the conveyor belt to level out the chocolate and remove air gaps that might form. 

A similar process occurs in different machines for other types of chocolate, like white chocolate. Shapes and sizes of molds obviously vary widely depending on the desired final product.

In some cases, liquid chocolate is simply poured into containers for things like chocolate spreads, etc. It really depends on what the final product is. 

Once the molds are filled, the chocolates are fed along yet more conveyor belts to cool and solidify. 

Next, the molds are emptied by another part of the production line, and the loose chocolates are fed on to yet another series of conveyor belts. 

At some point along the conveyor, digital sensors count and check each chocolate piece for consistency and quality. Yet further along the line, skilled workers randomly select chocolate pieces to carry out further quality checks. 

Once passed this stage, chocolate pieces are fed into another machine for branding and packaging. One machine takes each chocolate in isolation and wraps them in one smooth and rapid action.

Once wrapped, each chocolate is then dropped down a chute and collected in a container. These containers are then fed into other machines for outer packaging and branding and a final run of quality control. 

With that done, the packages are then hand-packed into boxes ready for shipping. Happy days!

If you enjoyed watching how chocolate is made in this factory, you might like to watch another industrial process? How about, for example, watching how door handles are made?

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