Lana, thanks for your comprehensive response,

There is one more thing I'd like to know: how long does it take Mol d'Art melting machine to melt about 3, 6 or 12 kg chocolate?

http://www.tcfsales.com/shopexd.asp?id=248&bc=no

They are good people to work with. I second Brad on the Savage. Love them!

If you are going to be working with chocolate on an ongoing basis (ie all day), then you need a piece of equipment that will continually agitate the chocolate when it's in temper. The size of the machine will depend on how much chocolate you need to temper throughout the day. We currently usetwo different types of machines in our shop - Pavoni Mini-Temper machines for hand dipping (holds and agitates about 10lbs at a time), and Savage 50lb tempering kettles. Both are semi-automatic, meaning they cycle through the temperatures for your chocolate, and can be programmed to make tempering almost dummy proof. The Pavoni's are fabulous for that and completely automatic, whereas the Savage machines require manual intervention at certain points, but trigger a buzzer when each point is reached.Each Savage machine (we have 2) will easily temper 100lbs of chocolate every 8 hours.

In my opinion, if you are working with chocolate all day, you need machines that will step through the tempering cycle for you, and continually agitate the chocolate. This will allow you to do other things, instead of standing there, stirring, and babysitting your chocolate.

Cheers.

Brad

Yes, the comments apply to bars as well.

Bars present different issues in production, not the least of which is packaging.

In the end you have to make it interesting for the manufacturer to do business with you.

Hi Clay,

Thanks so much for the detailed response. What you say makes a lot of sense. I was thinking of a specialized bar though - not confections. Would your comments apply even for bars?

Hi Geetha, in Ecuador we produce cocoa liquor for couverture and high quality chocolates, if you wish, we can help you with the product you need, send me to dissupp@yahoo.com the specifications, quantities and all the details to send you an offer, which I will be happy to help..

Thanks,

Ivan.

Geetha:

You are in a classic startup situation here: You see an opportunity but want to gauge the marketplace before committing to large production. The challenge here will be to find a confectioner (I am assuming you are talking about some sort of bonbon here and not bars) who is willing to work with to develop custom recipes without any commitment on your part with respect to eventual purchases of the recipes you develop.

In the cases where I've been involved in brokering relationships like these where the client has limited resources (i.e., not a lot of money to invest) it has always turned out that the first products to be tested were variations of existing products the manufacturer already made. For example, a specific center (e.g., a caramel or pralin) in a different mold or decorated differently. In this way the concept you are trying to develop can be tested. Once the concept proves out and there is some basis on which to plan production, then custom flavors can be discussed.

I have yet to be successful in persuading a manufacturer to do all of the development work "on the come" so to speak, especially where the client feels that their recipes are differentiable.

If you do have the resources, be prepared (and offer) to pay for the recipe development; it can be surprisingly inexpensive. This way it's much clearer who "owns" the recipes and you can establish a mutually beneficial working business relationship from the very beginning.

I am located in upstate New York and I am currently working on a business plan for a small bean to bar chocolate prosessing company. I can currently provide 9 # per batch and am looking at expanding to about 30 # per week I would prefer to make and sell couviture chocolate. My email is g.philomena@yahoo.com. I work with fair trade organic beans and like the single source chocolate. However I would be willing to talk about your specifications.

Thank you, Gloria

Hi sebastian,

Give me a couple of days to get back to you with something that makes sense. I am wondering though if there's someone who'd be willing to start with small batches and eventually grow to a larger scale. I would like the option to test the concept out in market before committing to something large scale.

no, but i know most of the contract mfrs. i'm trying to gauge which of them might be appropriate for you to discuss with - you must have some sense of your volume potential...

What's your initial reaction if i say a ton (2200 lbs)? Let's use this as a litmus test..

Hi Sebastian,

I'm actually in the very early stages and in the process of researching my options. I'm afraid I don't have a lot of details to give you just yet. Are you involved in this yourself? If you're travelling, I'll be happy to give you a call when you get back and we can talk in some detail. I really appreciate your help.

Thanks. Let me know.

also should ask, what type of product (solid bar, filled, filled with what kind of materials, how flexabile are you, etc). Sorry, on the other side of the world this week, jet lags' wreaking havoc.

Can you give a ballpark annual volume estimate?

I am wondering if there are any options to have chocolates manufactured to my specifications, which I can then package and sell? I would like to know if such companies exist - who are willing to do the manufacturing - and how I might find them.

Any input anyone may have will be really helpful.

Thanks much,

G

In addition to the dipping fork or the cork you could also use a piece of sponge (cut to a convenient size and keep for future use)to lightly press down on the transfer sheet.

I agree that if your chocolate is in correct temper you shouldn't really need to do anything else (other than leave the transfer sheet on until the chocolate is crystallized). Redcan be aproblem and I have trouble with some shades of green as well.

Klassy:

In addition to waiting until the chocolate is completely crystallized (how long depends on temperature), I would also recommend using something soft and flat to press the transfer on to the chocolate. Many people I know use wine corks (cork, not synthetic).

:: Clay

You ladies rock! Thank you so much! I guess I was just being impatient because I was excited to see the new designs lol. I will make a new batch today and leave them till tomorrow. And it makes sense that it takes 24 hours to fully set, which explains why my chocolates always taste SO much better after a day or two. I am trying to do all the photos for my website this weekend, so after I get these all ready I will upload a few so you can see how much your advice helps! Ill do a 'before advice' and 'after advice' shot lol.

Thanks!

So here I am again, asking for help from the experts. (I come back because I always get such great advice from everyone!)

So, I think I got the hang of tempering in the Mol d'art melter, and now as usual, I have anotherdilemma. I really would like to use transfer sheets on the top of my truffles and have already got 40 sheets at home to use. I tried them out today, but I had ONE truffle turn out looking good out of 30! The first one I did looked great and the rest didnt take the image. Its just a design, and I got the sheets from chefrubber.com. I had the chocolate at about 89-90 degrees f, but the image only transfers partially. There are a few little parts that look good but overall the truffle looks terrible. I tried a few things. I tried putting the little transfer sheet square on the truffle faster, I tried waiting a second then putting it on, I tried letting them sit longer, and also tried taking them off sooner. I tried pulling it off slowly, and tried quickly too. I tried putting them on then lightly using a blow dryer to heat the sheet (worked a tad bit better, but still looked terrible) and I also tried heating the sheet before putting it on the truffle. That worked a little bit too, but still looked pretty bad.

It is the first time I have used these. Is there something Im doing wrong? If anyone has any advice that would make these things look good and transfer every single line from the sheet to the truffle I would appreciate it a lot. I would LOVE to use these sheets because I really like the flat top truffle look with a colorful design on it. It just looks so awesome!

Thanks so much in advance everyone! Also, have a good weekend!!!

Ryan

I am learning about chocolate. So if I come to your store for sampling, I would definitelylike to hear the different types of chocolate and ganaches involved inyour work. How you make your chocolate great, the stories and inspirations. Make your tasting a fun event. You are not just selling sweets, you sell feeling. Hope this helps.

Hi Mike

I've been to quite a few of these tastings. They normally come form the angle of educating consumers about the difference between quality chocolate and the stuff they normally eat.

Typically they taste good chocolate, starting with say 30% through to 70%+, and perhaps throw in a bit of 99%/100% to show them what 'pure' chocolate tastes like. They also taste poor quality chocolate, to contrast the quality.

Inevitably people like white chocolate so have some of that too.

Good luck

Jonathon

I'm going to be doing a series of Chocolate Tastings in the fall at stores that will be carrying my chocolates. I've never been to a formal tasting like this and I'm looking for some direction. How many of my chocolates should I have available? One of every kind or just a select few. Should I give some sort of demo? Talk about the different types of chocolate and ganaches involved in my work? Maybe a questions and answer type thing.

If you have any ideas on how I can make this an entertaining experience for potential customers as well as the store owners I'd appreciate it.

Thanks, Mike

Yes I do agree, nurture often beats nature the majority of the times. Also breaking the habits of frames can in most cases proved very difficult. Would you say that the varieties that I have if done right I will achieve fine finish product?

'tis true, poor genetic stock will never result in good chocolate. however, simply having good genetic stock does not guarantee you'll get good chocolate. there are many many ways to completely screw it up 8-) good genetic stock + good post harvest practices = a good thing. good genetic stock + poor post harvest practices = disaster. there are many shades of grey between the two.

Ask your farmers to provide you with a number of samples using their standard post harvest practices and evaluate what you get. the best case scenario is you like what you get, and thus don't have to ask them to do anything different. changing behaviors is one of the most difficult things you can ask anyone, not just a farmer, to do.

I have few farmers that are already producing a few of the Varieties. So far they have been selling the bean to a few European buyers as flavoring beans. Seeing that this is my first attempt at growing and processing, I want to focus mostly on developing the highest quality favor beans possible. I was told base on the genetic variety I begin with, this would heavily affect the quality of the final product.

It's a bit like asking which car manufacture is the best - ford or chevy? you're information has a lot of yield information present, which makes me think you're getting your info from breeders - who almost never focus on flavor. breeders serve farmers, and farmers are most interested in yield, often at the expense of flavor. which is the finest? a significant portion of flavor is developed AFTER the beans are harvested - i can make any one of the above beans taste like 15 separate chocolates, even though they'd all be the exact same bean. i'd recommend identifying what characteristics you WANT to have, then source some beans from the geography you're considering, and have them prepared a number of ways postharvest, so you can get a feel for what they're capable of.

It's very difficult for anyone to say that ICS39 planted in, say Ecuador, will give a fruity chocolate. There's just too many variables. If you're going to be planting, remember there may be self incompatibility issues, and you may want to consider planting a variety of clonal materials to ensure a hedge against disease/pest pressures (if you go monoclonal, a single disease event could wipe you out). Remember also, that it will take 2-5 years for you to realize beans from new planting material as well.

Where can I get a full description of each of these Varieties and identify the finest ones.

I have these options for planning and want to make sure I plant the finest of them..

The varieties identified are as follows:

GS 29 (Grenada Selected) This variety originated in Grenada.

POD-Seven (7) pods will produce one pound of cocoa beans. The pod has high rough ridges. The pod is purple when young, long with deep ridges. As the pod matures it turns pink then yellow. The pod is normally full with beans but the beans are not very thick.

GROWTH HABIT- The tree grows very tall and branches a lot. This variety should not be planted alone because it is incompatible. It should be planted with DS1,DS 2, ICS 1, ICS 84 and ICS 95.

ICS 1- This variety originated from Trinidad.

PODS-The beans are smaller than the G S29, purplish when young, yellow when ripe. The skin is smooth, ridges are wider and flatter. It is juicier and sweeter than the GS29 .the pod is round when young and becomes longer when older.

ICS 39

POD-the pods are very rough. Fewer pods are required to produce a pound of cocoa. The pods are yellow when ripe. The pod has a small neck, large body and tapering end. The pod appears creamish when young. When the pod is ripe it has a chalkish/whitish look outside. The older the pods the rougher the skin. The size varies according to the condition o the trees.

GROWTH HABIT- The tree is very vigorous and tall.

ICS 95-

PODS- The pods are light purple when young, then they turn light yellow. The ridges are closer and the pod is smoother than ICS 1.

ICS 40

Similar to ICS 39 has similar habits. Ridges are raised and the end is fuller and round.

ICS 60

PODS- same habit with ICS 39.The pod is the biggest in size. The pod is green at the top and bottom and this pod has the most beans.

Your in luck. Below is a small production line that someone need to get rid of.

http://www.actrader.com.au/ProductionLines/ChocolateProduction/ChocolateProductionLine.html

I've seen pretty good butter recovery froma simple but powerful hydralic ram organized like a basket press but at thatkind of volume (600 kg / day avarage)you would need an army of them.

Nib, Liquor, (as refined as possible), I wanted to do butter but have not been able to find a small press that cost effective. I must archive as much degree of processing of the beans so can to archive my business model.

Sebastion:

Before it's possible to answer this question it's important to know exactly what you want to produce and in what quantities:

• Nib
• Liquor (how refined?)
• Butter
• Powder
• Finished chocolate

:: Clay