Because of the high temperatures involved, roasting helps clean the cacao, which may have picked up bacteria or even mold.

Cacao beans from West African regions tend to have ... After fermentation, the beans are quickly dried to prevent mold growth. Following fermentation and drying, the beans are cleaned and roasted.

To them, cacao beans were more valuable than gold ... and adding sugar. He set this in moulds, and voila! The chocolate bar was born. The chocolate made through this method resembled a mild ...