How to Dry & Roast Cocoa Beans
- 1). Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Cocoa beans do their full roast between 250 degrees Fahrenheit and 325 degrees Fahrenheit but must start the process at a very high temperature to get the shells hot enough to come off easily (see Tips section). They will only be roasted for a few minutes at a high temperature and then you will have to turn down the heat. While the oven is heating, spread your cocoa beans evenly on two baking sheets. You will roast only two baking sheets worth of beans at a time.
- 2). Put cocoa beans in the 425-degree oven for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir the beans and continue roasting for another 3 minutes at that temperature.
- 3). Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Continue roasting for 7 minutes.
- 4). Lower the oven temperature to 265 degrees Fahrenheit and roast the cocoa beans for another 10 minutes. Take the beans out of the oven and you now have fully dried and roasted cocoa beans. Let cool.
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