This is fol­lowed by conch­ing. The base mass is warmed to be­tween 50 and 90 °C and stirred for 12 to 48 hours. This re­duces the water in the choco­late as well as un­wanted ol­fac­tory, bit­ter and aro­matic com­po­nents. How length of the conch­ing process is a se­cret the choco­latiers ­prefer to keep to them­selves be­cause this step has a great ­influence on the taste and con­sis­tency of the choco­late. It’s the conch­ing that sets a ­chocolate apart and dis­tin­guishes it from other choco­lates. Then the mass is cooled down. This process is cru­cial for the shini­ness – and the ­sensual “snap” when the choco­late is bro­ken.