The Cocoa Pod

The Cocoa Pod is tucked away in Lower Parel at 601/17. It’s a bit of a hidden spot compared to all the big offices and malls around here. We spend our days working with cocoa beans and large blocks of chocolate. The whole place smells like a bakery most of the time, which is nice, but it can get quite warm when the machines are running. We aren't a big operation with hundreds of workers; it’s just a small team of us in a kitchen-style setup. We spend a lot of time tempering chocolate and making sure it has the right shine. It’s a lot of waiting and watching, which can be boring if you aren't into it. The floors are often a bit sticky because something always spills, and we go through a lot of cleaning supplies every week. We don’t have a big fancy storefront where you can come and sit down for a meal. It’s more of a production space where we get the orders ready. Sometimes we stay late into the night when we have a big batch that needs to be finished. We have a small window that lets in a bit of sunlight, but mostly we are under the bright kitchen lights all day. It’s a messy job, but we like the process of turning the raw pods into something people actually want to eat. We just keep our heads down and focus on the next tray. It is simple work but it takes time.