My supplier for refiner syrup does not sell to us anymore in the quantities needed.
Does anyone know where to get refiner syrup in barrel or buckets, I'd very much appreciate the information. I am located in Southern California (Greater Los Angeles).
Thanks
Helmut Placek
It is known that the original Hershey Chocolate factory will be closing in less than two years. If you are in need of material you might be able to contact Hershey and ask if you could purchase their "scrapped" machinery. And at the same time, save our environment from scraped metal being tossed into a dump. There is nearly 2 million square feet of machinery. Other parts of the factory are of course for offices.
This could be a good thing I would think.
Just a suggestion.
Hi Giovanni,
I am from Ecuador and I think I can help you in regard to cocoa national and CCN51, if you want, you can write me to dissupp@yahoo.com and have the pleasure tocollaborate with you.
@Clay - Nice to meet you - great backstory.
Yes, I deal with that issue on a daily basis. Most folks just don't want to know the details, and I have to sometimes force myself to not become the "Grim Reaper of TMI."
@Glenn be in touch later tonight.
Cheers, David
David:
Thanks for bringing up an interesting point. The whole idea of Fairtrade (or Fair Trade) is that there is an independent agency who vouches for the practices of the actors in the supply chain.
While I know Felchlin very well (and happen to be the person who introduced the owner of the Hacienda Elvesia where the beans for the 74% Cru Hacienda are sourced to Felchlin) and I can similarly vouch for their standards when it comes to bean sourcing, at the consumer level (not at the level of the truly knowledgeable chocolate professional) people are looking for the Fairtrade (or "Fair" trade) certification so they don't have to think.
So while you and I may know what Felchlin's practices mean, the consumer wants to see the logo and no matter how hard you try to convince them that it doesn't apply - they won't listen. They need to see the logo.
Of course, it's because they don't have to think that the value of the certification is so easily undermined, but that's another issue.
:: Clay
David,
I'm always interested in new organic products. You can reach me at glenn@gemchocolates.ca. I checked out the website, nice. Can you send me some product info and pricing, please?
Thanks,
Glenn
Hi Todd,
I rep for Felchlin on the West Coast. We carry their 74% Organic in bulk rondo. Felchlin has very high human rights standards, well above FairTrade levels. Please check out www.felchlin.com for more info. Please let me know if I can be of any help.
Cheers, David
products: bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder
amount: 200-400lbs chocoalte and 100lbs pwdr at a time
timeline: tbd
delivery: to my plan in PA and net 30
Anything else let me know
Thanks
what products you need
how much of each
product specs
timeline
delivery / incoterms / payment terms desired
anything other detail you can think of
saludos
brian
I know that the cacao they use is 70% or more ccn51. i also know that they have organic cert., i just saw the certificate hanging in their office a couple days ago. Here in Peru ccn51 is grown organically in the areas i work in, so presumably can be and is in the areas naranjillo works in. i honestly can't speak to how effective or accurate the organic certification is here, or whether naranjillo is separating organic from non-organic really strictly, but ccn51 is grown without chemical inputs here in peru, i've seen it personally.
brian
Hi Brian
I boughtorganicliquor fromnaranjilloseveral timesand I am waitingnow anew arrival.It's agoodcocoa.But nowI want to know, asyou say, ifin factthey also includetheccn51, andare certifiedorganic.In EcuadorIlearnedthatonlynational isorganiccertified,while theccn51was not possible.
Grateful forany informationyou canprovide me
hi guys, i see i wasn't clear, i was referring specifically to naranjillo's FT cocoa powder in my first response. naranjillo does make chocolate but itspretty sweet stuff for the domestic peru market, not really anything for a more discerning market. right now they have a bunch of what they call 55% couverture which is 35% cacao, 20% cocoa butter, 45% sugar, and the cacao they use is mostly ccn51.
my impression is that while they want to get into exportable quality chocolate, for now they specialize in butter and cocoa powder, which as clay says appears to be pretty good quality. their factory is modern and well run. I'm meeting with their manager in lima monday on another matter, if you like todd send me your data and needs, i can give it to him and you can judge for youself if you want to consider them based on his response.
just so everyone is clear i have no affiliation with naranjillo, i have no monetary interest in todd's decision, i offered to help as a professional courtesy, nothing more.
brian
Brian:
I responded because I have seen and tasted product from Naranjillo. While I would not buy the chocolate they make for domestic consumption, the liquor, powder, and butter are of good quality.
They can make chocolate to spec but the minimums are at least 5 tonnes, as I recall, based on my last conversations with them.
They mean well, but I fear it's the nature of co-operative management in Peru, Bolivia, and elsewhere.
what clay says is correct, doing pretty much any business in peru requires speaking spanish, spending time in peru, and having a top notch customs person. customer service is generally poor to non-existent here. working with a peruvian supplier only over the phone from the us is dubious.
i haven't worked with naranjillo, just been to the factory and know them, so take what he says well in mind todd. i know they make the product you're looking for, and can make an introduction if you want.
bh
From personal experience, I can tell you that working from the US with Naranjillo is extremely difficult. Customer service did not exist as a concept in their English vocabulary.
Plus, Naranjillo didn't have (as of about six months ago) any export capability for finished and semi-finished products to the US.
Maybe things have gotten better in the last six months or so. In any event, I would not want to work with them unless I had a representative in Peru, fluent in Spanish and in business customs, handling the Peruvian end of the business for me. I can't recommend doing it remotely.
hi from peru todd, i just replied to sacred steve about a similar query. i was in a factory today that produces literally tons of organic FT cocoa powder, and there are other options here in peru as well. the production quality is very good. the beans are mostly ccn51, conventional, notat the high end of fine and flavor, but not like african bulk stuff. I know everybody down here, if you want a connection let me know.
saludos
brian
Hi,
I'm looking to find a chocolate company where I can purchase both bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder. I want it to be certified by a third party organization such as transfair, Rainforest Alliance, etc, or if not know that the company sources it's chocolate in an ethical and socially responsible manner. That being said I do not want to sacrifice quality to achieve the above. I'm also somewhat price sensitive as I'm using the chocolate and cocoa as a raw ingredient in my company's product(brownies) that we sell to retail stores, but hopefully my volume will allow for possible lower pricing. I'm open to any and all possible solutions so that I can get high quality, FT chocolate & cocoa powder into my product. We are a socially responsible and have been searching high and low for a product that fits our needs and budget. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Todd
I love following the chocolate!
Display photo from the launch at the Sheraton Mirage Resort at Port Douglas earlier this month. Looks amazing I think you will agree
Sure is. First orders have just been received by the customers and tasting feedback is starting to filter through. 
Looks like the online store is up and running!
Oh, you got that right! Dark milk chocolate is a seriously under-represented catagory in Australia and the funny thing is it would probably be the most popular (my experience over many years of giving samples to people). I love it, you can still taste the origin but it has the lovely milk to mellow just slightly the bitterness. There are a few bars out there but they don't really say DARK MILK CHOCOLATE like the Lindt 50% which is what my wife and daughter go for when they have eaten everything I have made......which happens a lot, have a safe box with a very stern note in it, which some how doesn't seem to make one ounce of difference!!?#$%#@. Well, if I was serious I would get a small safe!
Oh, I finally got my Daintree Vanilla and wow! You weren't kidding just the smell alone is sodelicious and potent, not as harsh and 'green' (if that can be used as an aroma descriptor) as the Tahitian stuff you can buy in supermarkets now. I need to get some of the Queen planifolia for comparison, but wow, if that is how it smells I can't wait to put it in some chocolate this weekend. Mmmm mmmm!
Just waiting on a few more things to be packaged and we'll soon have sales via the website. Only weeks away now. Sneek previews attached. Shhh...
Looks like the Daintree bars are packaged, this pic is off the website
I think I was talking to the right person in the right place at the right time.
The dark milk that I make with the Aussie beans is a 55% but that is 40% beans, I like my cacao content quite high in a dark milk, this formulation I found best to my liking, just the right amount of milk to balance with the fruit. The Daintree Estates formulation I am not sure of but suspect it is more like a 45% like you have guessed (when I see the nutritional info on the bigger bars I will be able to work it out). This bean works well at a number of different formulations below the 55% I settled on, the flavour of the bean still comes through even down to a 25% cacao bean content. I found it more challenging to formulate it at this level because I wanted to maintain the origin flavour but at that level of milk you face a lot more challengeswith the physical properties of the chocolate rather than getting the flavour you want. I got it pretty damn right in the end for the milk chocolate though, I was really quite proud of that one (with nibs in it it was killer!!!).
It's very different , you will not be dissapointed.
I was hoping you were producing powder. I've seen pretty simple setups for that i.e. basically a massive hydralic ram and somewhere for the butter to go.
Don't know if you have tried, it but Daintree Vanilla & Spice is maybe worth trying to up the local Ozzie appeal.
Best milk chocolate I've tasted in 10+years maybe 20.I love milk chocolate.
One thing is intriguing me from the ingredients list on both the 70% and 45% mini bar labels is the inclusion separately of both Cocao Nibs & Cocao Butter. Is the butter from Daintree too? Is there then consequently left over Cacao powder? Are the nibs produced by a separate company? If your in control of the entire processing (bean-to-bar) "Cacao Beans" would be the obvious ingredient?
I also hate the "Made in Australia from local and imported ingredients." statement knowing the way juice manufactures abuse such labelling. i.e. the only "local ingredient" being water in some juices ...
We had the fortune to try both the 70% and 45% milk chocolate today. Must say I'm *very* impressed with both. The balance of sugar and mouth feel are excellent. Did you do the roasting profiles and formulation Tom?
I have a cold today so taste is impaired but from what I could taste I liked. From what understand the price point will be $8-$10 / 80g bar?
