The journey of a chocolate bar begins with cocoa beans. The beans are harvested between October and December when they are dried in the sun before being sent to a chocolate factory.

It is estimated that around 7.5 million tons of chocolate is eaten around the world every year! A ton is about the same weight as a polar bear. Turn the mold over onto parchment paper and pop the Fizzing Whizzbees out of the mold. If there is any condensation on the chocolate, gently blot them with a paper towel. Moisture on the chocolates can cause sugar bloom later (see FAQ below for more details on this). Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Chocolate is a sweet, brown food made from cocoa beans. It usually comes in solid bars but can also be powdered or melted. Chocolate is a sweet treat that is eaten all around the world. Pure cocoa can help prevent tooth decay. It is only the sugar added to chocolate that makes it bad for our teeth.So many Toblerone bars are sold every year that if you laid them out end to end, they would stretch further than the whole circumference of the world! Milk chocolate uses a lower percentage of cocoa solids (usually around 25 per cent) and adds much more milk and sugar. Dark chocolate uses between 70 - 99 per cent cocoa solids. It is much less sweet than milk chocolate. The Aztecs (who lived from about 1200-1500 AD) also drank chocolate, although they drank theirs hot instead of cold. Aztec legend stated that the god Quetzalcoatl brought cocoa to earth. He was then cast out of paradise for giving it to humans because only gods were fit to drink cocoa! Freeze the tray for 15 to 20 minutes until chocolates harden. The mold will look cloudy rather than wet, and after removing it from the freezer you'll even hear a few of them "pop" as the chocolate starts to release from the edges of the mold. Cocoa beans grow in humid tropical climates. Most of the world’s cocoa beans are grown around the equator in countries such as Brazil, Ecuador and Peru in South America, Ghana, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire in Africa, and Indonesia and Malaysia in Asia.

Explore the different melting points of different types of chocolate with this fun Melting Chocolate Experiment Science lesson! Cocoa trees are very delicate. Cocoa farmers often lose about 30 per cent of the cocoa beans in their crop each year. All our truffles are hand mixed, using only the finest ingredients & infused with natural flavours, to create delicious chocolates.The difference between milk and dark chocolate is the amount of milk and sugar that is added, as well as the amount of cocoa solids used in the chocolate. Cocoa butter is the fatty part of the cocoa bean whereas cocoa solids refers to the powder that is left behind. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (a metal or glass bowl set over a saucepan with about an inch of boiling/simmering water—make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir chocolate until smooth. Milk chocolate was first invented in Switzerland in 1875. It took him 8 years to get the recipe right!

On that note, M&Ms were invented in 1941 during World War 2 so that soldiers could enjoy chocolate without it melting.However, studies have shown that eating a little chocolate every month has a range of health benefits, including lowering cholesterol levels, keeping your brain functioning well and reducing the risks of heart problems. This is particularly true of dark chocolate; the higher the cocoa solid content, the higher the benefits. So if you want to eat chocolate, consider swapping milk or white chocolate for dark chocolate next time you have a craving! It wasn’t until 1847 that the first chocolate bar was produced. The British chocolate company J.S. Fry & Sons created the first edible chocolate bar from cocoa butter, cocoa powder and sugar. Soon, many other companies, such as Cadburys, Lindt and Hershey’s all started producing their own solid chocolate bars and the modern obsession with chocolate was born! This recipe makes 30 Fizzing Whizzbees. You'll either need 3 bee molds (each makes 10 bees), or will need to make them in 3 batches using the same mold (or reduce the recipe to make only 10). If you make them in 3 batches, you can melt⅓ of the chocolate at a time in the double boiler. It takes about 200 cocoa beans to make 1kg of chocolate and each cocoa tree produces about 2500 beans.

The liquid is then dried into a crumb-like consistency before being squashed together by a giant roller. The chocolate is then tempered, which involves heating and cooling the mixture several times until it reaches the right consistency. In the UK, it is estimated that people eat on average 11kg of chocolate every year. This is the same as about 3 bars a week, or 156 bars every year!

Bag of 10

Work in the ideal room conditions. Room temperature should be 68-72°F and room humidity should not exceed 50%. Use an air conditioner to regulate conditions if needed. Make sure your chocolate is new and fresh, as older chocolate will have more tendency to bloom. Other recipes inspired by Harry Potter you may like