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  • Hi Guys!

  • We just got back from Trick or Treating!

  • I went as a scientist and Squeaks is a lion!

  • Give us your best roar, Squeaks!

  • (Squeaks roars)

  • We got a ton of candy this year!

  • Squeaks likes gummy worms, but like chocolate!

  • (Squeaks squeaks)

  • Where does chocolate come from?

  • Great question, Squeaks!

  • Believe it or not, chocolate grows on trees!

  • The main ingredient in a chocolate bar starts out looking just like this.

  • [Squeaks squeaks]

  • I know!

  • They look nothing like a chocolate bar, or even the cocoa powder we put in hot chocolate.

  • Those are actually beans.

  • And not just any beans!

  • The beans that give us chocolate grow on the cacao tree, and it takes a lot of hard work

  • to turn them into the type of chocolate that we can eat.

  • You might think any tree that helps us to make chocolate is pretty special, and you'd

  • be right!

  • Cacao trees are picky about where they grow, because they need lots of heat and water.

  • So most cacao trees grow in the part of the world that's right in the middle, where

  • there are a lot of warm, wet rainforests.

  • Now, even though the cacao tree needs lots of heat, it doesn't do well in bright sun.

  • So the tree doesn't get too tall.

  • Instead, it grows closer to the ground, where it can stay mostly in the shade that's made

  • by taller trees.

  • Like a lot of trees, the cacao tree makes flowers.

  • Its flowers are white, and they grow right along the main part of the treestraight

  • out of the bark!

  • Part of these flowers eventually grow into big pods.

  • It can take six whole months for the pods to be ready.

  • That's half of a year!

  • Once a cacao pod is ripe and ready, a person cuts it from the tree using a sharp knife.

  • And when they open up the pod, it looks like this!

  • Can you see the beans?

  • Inside of each pod are about 50 cacao beans, along with a bunch of white stuff called pulp.

  • People scoop out the beans and pulp from inside the pods, then put what they scooped out into

  • big wooden boxes and leave everything alone for about a week.

  • During that week, the white pulp turns into liquid, leaving behind the cacao beans, which

  • are then put out into the sun to get nice and dry.

  • Now, these beans may be brown like the chocolate you see in stores, but they don't taste

  • like that chocolate!

  • A cacao bean tastes pretty bitter, and it takes some work in a chocolate factory to

  • turn these beans into the delicious treats that we get to eat.

  • At the factory, the first thing they do is roast the beans in big ovens.

  • After a cacao bean is roasted, it turns dark, and looks like this.

  • Next, they take off the hard outside of the cacao beans, leaving the soft insides.

  • Then, they smash and grind the insides until it's a thin paste.

  • And we can do lots of different things with this paste!

  • To make a chocolate bar, the chocolate factory mixes the paste with things like sugar and

  • milk.

  • Then they stir the mixture for a long time and pour it into a mold, which is kind of

  • like a bowl that's specially shaped to look like a chocolate bar.

  • They leave the chocolate to cool for a while and become solid instead of all liquidy.

  • Then, they take it out of the mold, wrap it, and send it to stores for us to buy!

  • Whew!

  • From a cacao tree to your store, there's a lot of work that goes into one piece of

  • chocolate.

  • But I think it's worth it!

  • And now, it's finally time to enjoy our Halloween treats!

  • Do you want to share your Halloween costume?

  • Or maybe tell us about your favorite kind of candy!

  • We'd love to hear form you!

  • Grab a grown up and leave a comment down below or send us an email to kids@scishow.com.

  • Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Hi Guys!

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