The cocoa in Nutella®
A masterful blend of selected beans, processed by ourselves
We buy only raw cocoa beans, carefully selecting them directly in their country of origin. Over the years, we have developed decades of experience in the processing of cocoa beans and have created the best blends possible to get that special aroma and unique taste of Nutella®.
We select only quality cocoa beans
The cocoa we use to make Nutella® comes mainly from West Africa.
The cocoa pods, which contain the beans, are harvested throughout the whole year. Once the ripe fruits have been harvested, they are opened to remove the beans.
The fresh beans are then left to ferment in large heaps in the harvesting areas, preferably under banana leaves. This phase lasts about a week, and is very important because this is where the aromatic precursors of cocoa develop.
Our secret? We created the best blend possible to obtain that specific flavour that makes the Nutella® taste so unique.
We transform the beans ourselves into cocoa powder
The cocoa powder is obtained by processing raw cocoa beans in a multi-phase transformation process that is carried out in our factories. We start with the drying phase, followed by the shelling: the beans are put into a large mill that separates the edible part to be ground (nibs) from the husk.
The ground nibs are then treated with alkali and roasted in order to bring out their flavour and colour. Then we grind them into the cocoa mass that is subsequently pressed to separate the cocoa butter from the cocoa "cake".
Lastly, after breaking out the cocoa "cake", we obtain the cocoa powder that we use in the preparation of Nutella®.
