Forum Activity for @Andy Ciordia

Has anyone attempted flavoring their chocolates with beer?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

We've got a brewery who has been itching for us to do something with them but we haven't had the mental bandwidth to really do this. My fear is that a reduction will bring out way too many bitters--learned only from the few beer reduction sauces I've attempted over the years for savory dishes.Again talking without trying, I feel like to attempt this getting some pieces of the raw ingredients used might make for a better flavoring. The type of malt, hops, etc, used in some mild extractions to just pull some hints/essence out of it.Definitely let us know how your trials go.

Has anyone attempted flavoring their chocolates with beer?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am currently experimenting with beer flavored chocolates with my husbands varying home brews. I am wondering if anyone has experienced making beer chocolates and whether you have found using the beer straight or as a reduction is better?
updated by @Michelle-Jo Garfield: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Raw cacao Satipo Peru

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)

Hello, I am wondering if anyone knows of any contacts in Satipo for sourcing raw cacao directly from the producers and possibly a farm that I am able to visit in November when I am in Peru.
updated by @Lucy bennetto: 12/13/24 12:16:49

Getting the temper right with my Selmi?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi- I use a Selmi- An enrobed piece will not have the shine that a molded piece has due to no contact with plastic. As Sebastian said- place a sheet of acetate on top of the enrobed pieces, cool and then peel off. It will (should) be shiny.That will show you that your temp's are OK. I work in Centigrade but I heat to 43C,(about 109) and work at 30.0-31.1C.

Getting the temper right with my Selmi?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thermocouples fail all the time - with chocolate, success (technical) is alla bout time / temperatures. I'd absolutely be checking the temperature. However, since you're getting good moulded results, i don't think that's your problem. It's shiny on the mould surface because of the mould surface. You're environmental temps are ok, but not great, for cooling - cooler would be better. My suspicion is that your enrobed pieces are sort of matte-looking, but not bloomed? If you cool a bit more quickly that might help with the appearance, but a matte-ish look for an enrobed piece isn't entirely all that unusual. You can try to put a piece of acetate on top of the enrobed pieces as the exit the enrober, which will give them a huge amount of gloss. Of course, I may have it all wrong as well - it's tough to trouble shoot remotely 8-) pictures always help too.The other piece that affects appearance is your centers - their composition and temperature as they process through the enrober are important.

Getting the temper right with my Selmi?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The temp in the enrobing area (not a separate room, but a semi-contained area) is pretty consistently 70-71 degrees F (the rest of the shop is consistently 69 F). The Selmi is set for, and is telling me, the working temp is 89.5 F, and I've been cooling molds in the 70 F area, but not in a cooling cabinet or anything similar. When I hand-dip, it's been in the slightly cooler area.Should I be checking the temps the Selmi is reporting (is it possible they are slightly off?)?

Getting the temper right with my Selmi?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Share more about your temperature of the chocolate at time of use (ie through the enrober), your cooling conditions, your enrobing center conditions, and your ambient conditions please

Getting the temper right with my Selmi?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I was fortunate enough to acquire a used Selmi Plus for my new chocolate shop and recently got it set up. I am using Chocoa Forte 60% in it, and I can't seem to quite nail down the temps for perfect tempering.

The info from Chocoa says it wants a high temp of 105-115F. Right now I have it about 109. Is that actually warm enough to melt out all the crystals?

I get nice snap and great shiny results in molds. But not when enrobing (either using the enrober or hand-dipping). Anyone have ideas why? Should I continue adjusting the temp, or should I think about possibly using a different kind of chocolate in it?

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!



updated by @Robyn Dochterman: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

HI

My apologies but unhappily, I never used the cupuau. Nor the seeds, nor the pulp, nor the nectar.

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

hello Mr Adeir boida

i was wondering if there is a recipe for cupuacu jelly,as i am de pulping some now . i am actually trying since a couple of months to make cupuacu bars with the seeds proceeding like cacao nibs. lots of people here love it.

you surely know about cupulate, have you ever tryed?i am from french guiana

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

How long do you freeze dry for? The custom dryers here specialise in wedding bouquets and they dry them typically for 4 days.

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The recipe below is in the site of CEPLAC (government company that researches cocoa plantations in Brazil). Unhappily all of the information are in Portuguese, but they can be translated with an electronic translator. There is, also, recipes for an alcoholic drink and home-made chocolate. See in:

http://www.ceplac.gov.br/radar/geleia_cacau.htm

"Filter 2 liters of cocoa nectar (or cocoa honey) in fine cloth and spill in a container of stainless steel or aluminum beating; Increase 1 Kg of refined and light sugar and put in the high fire, moving with a teflon spoon or of wood, until to boil and to dissolve the sugar completely; Let to boil from 10 to 20 minutes, to depend on the stove type and burners, until obtaining the point. Point: Dip a skimmer or spoon and soon afterwards, lift a height above the steams liberated by the heating of the mixture. Tilt to pick so that it allows to spill the jelly. In case it forms a fine layer (a small drop similar to bee honey) in the border of the skimmer, it is in the ideal point. At this time, add to the jelly lemon drops or citric acid solution. Move the mixture well and turn off the fire With the jelly hot. Put in packing that allows hermetic (without entrance of air) closing and remove the foam with a spoon. Close the pots tightly and leave capsized them from 3 to 5 minutes to guarantee the best conservation of the product. After this period, return the pots to the normal position".

Cocoa gelly taste very good and diferent from all the gelly you have tried in the past...

We sold cacao jelly through the internet to Brazil. We have pure jelly, with pepper, and with ginger. See in:

http://www.dietacrua.com.br/alimentos/geleias.html

Let me know if you need more information.

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Adeir, that picture is very beautiful and intriguing. I would love the recipe in English.

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Please could you give me the cocoa jelly recipe? I would like to do it at home now i have Frozen cocoa pulp in my reefer

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Mark,What do you mean exactly by "Freeze dry"? How do you do that?And also what does shellac mean?Do you now if it is possible to keep a pod open in some sort of alohol liquid too to show the inside?Thank you very much for your help.Alain

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

To preserve the pods with the color...Drill a small hole into the pod, then freeze dry it. I have pods that are 5-7 years old and still look great. Once dried, we shellac the surface and put a small rubber plug into the hole.

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Sebastian,Congratulations for the information about the criminal introduction of witch's broom in Bahia/Brazil.Few people in the world know about this.I have copy of the report of the Federal Police of Brazil on this, and a heard that it was the first case in the world of biological terrorism against a agricultural activity (all of the previous cases were applied against the human life).All of brazilian farmers hope this subject make up the interest of the world press and that, in the future, we can have books, texts, films, etc, on this subject.Greetings

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

thx Adeir! no more seeds for now, will keep the jelly idea in mind for the next time

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The pods do not dry with the beautiful colors. They have a high water content, like many tropical plants and quickly shrink and go brown. You can use them to make a cast of the pod however with the plaster like material they make arm and leg casts of. Mold them, let dry, then paint them and shellac them and you will have a nice replica.

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Evert,If you squeeze the fresh seeds of cacao using a cloth, you will separate the liquid part, the nectar. The jelly may be obtained by cooking the nectar together sugar, until obtaining the ideal viscosity. It is very simple. If you want, I can translate the complete recipe for English...

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

hi Adeir,thx for that nice looking jellydo you have some kind of recipe for this as well? - what part of the pulp do you leave out?thx!

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

hi all,thanks for all your respones!well after your first answers I immediately opened a first pod, and wow that pulp really is delicious.I shared it with a bunch of people, all liked it very much, tasting like grapes, mango, banana and lychees all at the same time! I took some pictures that I will share in a blog post with you.I now have still 3 left, I will open one more in the weekend to see what happens, the others I will try to dry to preserve them.enjoy chocolate in all its shapesEvert-Jan

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

For human consumption, the cocoa pulp should be extracted in the same day of the crop. The liquid contained in the pulp (cocoa nectar) is acid and soon becomes vinegar.Few people know that with the nectar (the liquid part of the pulp) it is possible to make a delicious jelly. See enclosed picture.For the best chocolate, however, the fruits should rest for 4 to 5 days, before they be cracked.

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

hi i would also like to know how to preserve cocao pods ?????

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

They will have started to degrade the moment they were cut from the tree. W/in 24 hours there will be noticeable flavor changes, if not refrigerated or frozen. The longer you wait, the less representative they will be.On a bigger note, exporting of raw agricultural products can be a very touchy subject. Up until now, the diseases in cocoa have been largely geographical and mitigated by physical barriers - ie big oceans in between them. There's a HUGE risk to geographical protection of cocoa if people start moving raw pods around the world. Witches broom in Brazil was likely caused by intentional sabotage in this fashion. CPB in Indonesia, if exported, will wreak havoc in other geographies. Black pod, if exported from Africa, will do the same. I hope your friend is taking the appropriate cautions when transporting and disposing these.

Fresh cacao pods hooray, but what to do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

hi all

I'm very glad with the freshly harvested cacao pods a friend of me brought straight from Sao Tome as a souvenir gift! Just 5 to play with, but I don't know how to keep m best though.

They are supposedly 4 days old and still closed, I would love to taste the raw 'pulp' in it, but how long can I keep them "juicy" and what other tips do you have te preserve them as well as possible? Dry them in the oven or so? ...

thanks for your help, I'll open a first one anyway


updated by @Evert-Jan De Kort (Choqoa.com): 04/11/25 09:27:36

Revolution x3210 Temperer

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Thanks for the suggestion Ilana.

Revolution x3210 Temperer

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

if it does not even turn on it may have overheated and burned out- there are two fans inside-just like in a computer and when they don't work there is overheating and this can cause damage. I know that Ian the owner of chocovision is a member here-try contacting him.

Revolution x3210 Temperer

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

At this point, ours will not heat up at all.

Revolution x3210 Temperer

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

I discovered that the machine should not be too close to the wall at the back or next to other machines esp if they also generate heat. It heats up and then gets stuck. When I separated my 2 machines from eachother and a bout20cm from the wall my problems stopped.

Revolution x3210 Temperer

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly. What you said makes some sense, as it worked fine in the beginning, and then after trying to change the vicosity as per the instruction manual, (pushing buttons during the cycle!) it gave us trouble and hasn't worked properly since.

Hopefully ours will magically reset as yours did!

Cathy

Revolution x3210 Temperer

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Hi Cathy, I honestly don't know what caused the problem (Chocovision tech support doesn't know either). I had a new board put in, and we still had the problem, then one day it stopped. I have used it probably a hundred times since with no problem. My only guess is that you shouldn't press any more buttons than necessary while its running its cycle, I think its easy to confuse the machine's logic board. I haven't dared try to recreate the problem for fear it would be back to stay if I managed to.

Hope this helps, and sorry I don't have a more definitive answer.

-Mike

Revolution x3210 Temperer

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Hi Mike,

I just recently discovered the Chcolate Life website and have been checking out some of the discussions. Did you ever solve your problem with the Revolution x3210? We purchased a Revolution 2 in order to temper small batches of chocolate for decorating truffles. We are having exactly the problem that you described.

Thanks, Cathy

Revolution x3210 Temperer

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Hi Mike,I had a similar problem several times with my x3210, during the seed phase. When it was time to add the seed chocolate, I'd do so, and the temp would come down a few degrees, but then it would just seem to get stuck or even go back up a degree or so. Chocovision sent me a new baffle, but that didn't solve the problem. Through trial and error, I finally fixed the problem (so far anyway) by making sure I keep stirring my chocolate well as it is getting close to its top melting temp (I melt to 120F), and then also stirring after hitting the seed button and adding the seed chocolate. I also throw a few extra chunks of seed chocolate directly into the melted chocolate, rather than behind the baffle, to help the chocolate cool down. Third, I make sure the kitchen is cool (under 70F).I use a digital thermometer to test the temp of the melted chocoIate in the bowl, and I've noticed that there can be a range of about 5 degrees in various parts of the bowl, if you don't stir. I think my problem was caused by the baffle reading 120 when some of the chocolate was actually 4-5 degrees higher. So when it was time for the temp to come down, the thermometer in the baffle would hit these hot spots, and be unable to drop as it should. Stirring helps ensure a uniform temperature.Hope this helps.Miriam

Revolution x3210 Temperer

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Hi, has anyone had a problem with their x3210 software freezing during a tempering cycle? Mine seems to do it all the time such that I've only got 2 successful batches run all the way through a cycle. I have talked to tech support and even replaced the main board, and it still has the problem. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

updated by @Mike3: 12/13/24 12:16:07

Australian Chocolate Makers-call out

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

My company is Exotic Chocolate Tasting that hosts guided chocolate tastings (mostly paired with wine) in the New York area. Working with chocolate makers that represent South America, Madagascar, Ghana, and Bali that are single origin, fair trade and organic. I don't have any chocolate makers that are from down under. My brother lives in Sydney and will be visiting me in New York Sept. 24. If you would like to have your special chocolates as part of my tastings, you can contact Rick and he will bring them with him in September. They will be featured on my website with a link to yours for purchase and promoted elsewhere on and off line. Photos will be posted here, on my site and on Face book. My site: http://www.exoticchocolatetasting.com/


If they are a hit, we can discuss how we can keep them in my line up for tastings.

Contact Roxanne on the Chocolate life if you are interested. Good Day!

updated by @Roxanne Browning : 04/10/15 09:44:12

How Did You Choose Your Market Location

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Hi Jeff,The chocolate cafe just didnt meet the target market in the area we had chosen....we realised a chocolate and wine bar would have worked better. Also with the cafe my ideas were way to broad and the latter choice being more specific was aimed at meeting the need of the community.I havent opened one yet but intend to in the future....not sure which way to go yet as I have to do a new business plan in the area we now intend to open....I have a website in construction and intend to start selling small to see how it goes in this community and go from there..

How Did You Choose Your Market Location

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Thanks Wendy...sounds so interesting. Hopefully I'll make it to your shop someday and be able to see all that you're doing! Sounds exciting!

How Did You Choose Your Market Location

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Thanks for your information Michelle-Jo. I'm interested to know what you learned that discouraged you from opening a chocolate cafe. What type of store did you finally open? Do you have a website? I'm trying to learn all I can! Good luck down under!Jeff

How Did You Choose Your Market Location

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Hi Jeff,My husband and I were looking at opening a store in Nashville but have since moved back to Australia..When we were researching to open in the states we spoke to a lot of people around town about what they would like, best places to eat out etc...it really helped. But the most important thing is to write your business plan.Something staggering like 80% of failing businesses dont writ a ebusiness plan. Im only saying this because we had the idea of a chocolate cafe at the beginning and by the time we had thoroughly finished our research we had changed the type of store and location completely, for the better. We were amazed!Hope it goes well for youMichelle-Jo

How Did You Choose Your Market Location

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Hey Jeff! We have a retail shop and are about to move to another location where we will have more space and visibility. We plan on serving pastries along with our chocolates to help out with our horrible heat waves. I do some wholesaling... to other local businesses but hope to start doing more of that. Gelato sounds nice! It is really popular now! Ice cream/gelato seem to always be a draw around here, as long as the location is right and convenient for customers. Wouldn't be as tough as adding pastries like we plan to do...we will have to have 2 kitchens...one for chocolate and one for baking. Can't have flour and heat in the same room with the chocolate. Could cause many problems.Let me know if you have anymore questions.... ~Wendy

How Did You Choose Your Market Location

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Wendy,Thanks so much for your response. Do you have a retail shop or do you do wholesale? I've thought about adding gelato to my in-store product mix in the warm months to offset the drop in chocolate sales. What do you think about that?Jeff