I'm disappointed the author didn't take two seconds to learn about how to make chocolates. Here are some basics:
Cacao seeds grow from the trunk of the tree. Not the branches.
First thing to do after the harvest is allowing them to ferment for around a week.
Fermentation should begin the same day the pods are picked. So transporting the pods would destroy them. This one bothers me even more because it would have been an immediate source of employment for the town.
After this is the process of drying, aging, roasting, winnowing, grinding, conching and tempering.
I might not be able to continue to reading after this.