How do we know the quality of cocoa beans when they show up in one of those giant burlap bags? How can we tell they'll be tasty once we've put them through the intensive processes that result in a chocolate bar?

We did some research and asked some friends, but we're always learning, so don't take this post as the be all end all of cocoa bean evaluation. The best way to learn to evaluate beans is to travel to cacao-producing countries and learn from the makers and farmers themselves.

In a nutshell, here's what we've learned so far: it takes all the senses and some background research to determine high quality cocoa beans.

Read more here:  http://rootchocolate.com/2015/02/02/cocoa-bean-quality/