Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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Holy Moly......How many lbs does it roast at one time again?
Forum Activity for @Brad Churchill
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Holy Moly......How many lbs does it roast at one time again?
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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Hi Kerry,the roaster is US$5,650 ex Works, Lima, Peru. If you are interested in a formal quote with including cost of transport to you, please let me know, stating destination?Regards,Bent
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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So cute - everyone needs a toy like that! Wonder what they cost?
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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that is one cute roaster
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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Hi all, Peru produces excellent cocoa machinery. Mainly large scale from drying process on, however, we have just developed a Cocoa Lab equipment consisting of sample dryer, size sorter, sample roaster (100-300 grams/batch), grinder/refiner to 18-22micron in one pass. We are also working on presses and we have a very cost effective pulverizer for cocoa cake. Any questions welcome at ventasrpd@imsacafe.comalso look at LAB CACAO.wmv
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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HI,great forum everybody. We are a Chocolate based Cafe in ISrael, and we are very happy there is a place where ideas can be shared. www.chocolatte.co.il
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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Hi Langdon,Can you contact us with information about you equipment. We are located in Solomon Islands and looking for small scale equipment and potential business partnersYou can contact us at www.soltrad.net
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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Hi ErnestoThanks for your interest. Sorry for my lack of clarity. Yes, we are aiming for under USD $1000 per kg per week. We expect that whole system should allow two people to produce at least 50kg of finished chocolate from a weeks labour, however, it may be possible (with more labour) to produce more. The cocoa butter press for instance could consume up to 150kgs of cocoa liquor per day, capacities can be very hard to match. So the complete system should cost somewhere round USD $50,000. How much product you can squeeze through is then up to you and how much energy you put into it
Note that this system is not currently complete, it is in development. So a final price and specification is still some months away.Regards,Langdon
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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Ernesto:If you have not already, you might want to look into Kiva.org. They provide microfinancing to businesses all over the world.:: Clay
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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Hi Langdon,Wow this is great! First is the 50 to 150kg per week in raw beans per week? We are currently roasting at 65kg raw beans per day. Do I get it right that you have a system for the process Clay described that would cost us about 65,000 USD for a 65 kg per day capacity? Please clarify.And also we are very much interested on your microfinance or leasing scheme. Could you give us a complete proposal so we can think over it? Would you consider barter system of payment where we could supply you of our finished products?Im looking forward to reading your reply.Jun
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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Hi Clay,No final figure yet, but, I think that US$1,000 per kilogram is likely.The system will be covering all of the steps listed above (as well as pressing cocoa butter), but capable of being deployed in segments as well. Some of the applications in the South Pacific will only require the first four steps.Langdon
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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Langdon:Any idea what the total cost of the system is likely to be in AUD? How many of the production steps below will the system you're building handle?CleanRoastCrack/WinnowGrind/RefineConcheTemperDeposit/MoldThanks,:: Clay
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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PS - I note in the Hershey thread that you mentioned extracting cocoa butter, we are currently prototyping a micro hydraulic press for cocoa butter extraction (processing up to 150kgs of liquor per day) as part of our system.
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
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Hi Ernesto,This sounds like a really exciting project. Love to hear more details about your farm and your plans.I am working with another company here in Australia to put together a complete set of machinery for small scale production (approximately 50 to 150kg per week capacity). The aim is to operate these plants in various South Pacific nations, so this might be suited to your situation. There are a few questions to ask though, probably the most important (as Duffy alluded to) is what is your budget?The company that I am working with are considering various micro-finance and leasing arrangements to help make this system affordable to small groups, so perhaps we can offer some options to you.Do you have a market in mind for your finished product? It may be possible to tie you in with our partners trading system.Regards,Langdon
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Hi Ernesto,Once you have a list of equipment that will be suitable (regarding size, capacity and so on) keep an eye on the auction sites and you may find things turn up for you. There is an argument for buying new so that the equipment is less likely to let you down - your call I guess.Maybe you could trade beans for equipment if cash flow is a problem? That might appeal to companies/people that are upgrading.Rgds,Duffy
Source of Small Scale Cacao Processing Equipments
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Hi every one we are a small farm in southern Philippines who are very much interested in purchasing small scale processing equipments for making chocolates any body interested in supplying us?
updated by @Ernesto B. Pantua Jr.: 04/07/25 13:00:14
Askinosie Davao: The first cacao from the Philippines in over 25 years - and a mea culpa
Posted in: Opinion
Stick with it, Clay - your efforts are appreciated. We can all get cross and want to take our ball home and not play anymore sometimes but few of us have to be so consistent in public.Duffy
Askinosie Davao: The first cacao from the Philippines in over 25 years - and a mea culpa
Posted in: Opinion
On Friday, January 30th, Askinosie Chocolate officially introduced their newest origin bar - Davao 77% made with beans from the Philippines. ( Official press release . Article in Philippine Star newspaper. Article in Manila Standard . Review on ChocolateNote by ChocolateLife member Casey. Zingerman's February Newsletter (scroll down).)Come again? Wasn't there already a forum thread on this? Where did it go?I am re-posting the news of the release on the bar because the original poster ("B") decided to leave TheChocolateLife and when he did all of the content he contributed was deleted automatically by Ning (whose software I use for this site) including any comments to forum threads and blogs he started. Those of you who read the previous thread might have noticed that I posted a very strong reply to one of the comments "B" made in followup to his original post. Yesterday, after about an hour on the phone and after several thousand words of e-mail back and forth over the past week, "B" decided he no longer wanted to be a member of TheChocolateLife.I am sad that he decided to leave, and so I decided to use this as a learning opportunity for the entire community.I did come down hard on "B" because I was privy to information none of the rest of you had. I wrote what I did because I received a complaint from Shawn. In hindsight it was unfair to "B" to respond as I did in public - in essence violating my own rule against flaming by appearing to over-react. Normally, my approach is to deal with issues like this one completely and totally privately and I also sent a private communication to "B". Without going into any detail about why Shawn complained, I will say that I was very angry that TheChocolateLife was being used to publicly air a grievance "B" felt he had against Askinosie.Even after an hour on the phone and a half-dozen e-mails back and forth with "B", I still have no idea why he felt he was entitled to feel the way he did and why that entitled him to act the way he did.I know why I responded the way I did, but that does not excuse my response, so I am apologizing to "B" and to everyone else here on TheChocolateLife for doing exactly what "B" did - which was to air a private disagreement publicly.Moderating TheChocolateLife is a delicate balance. Those of you who have been members for any length of time know that I only engage in removing content from or revoking membership to TheChocolateLife as a very last resort, and never without trying to engage all of the parties involved in an attempt to mediate the issues privately - even when content clearly goes against the spirit of the "Golden Rules for Posting." At the same time, I work diligently to ensure that the site is not used for SPAM purposes - to promote products and businesses that have nothing to do with chocolate.That remains my commitment to TheChocolateLife community because I know that the only way for members to feel comfortable contributing is to know that their contributions are valued equally. While I may be "an" expert on some aspects of chocolate, I am not "the" expert on everything chocolate. I know what I know - and I know that it's only a small part of the delightfully wonderful world of chocolate. The success of TheChocolateLife depends on my knowing that I don't and can't know everything about chocolate and welcoming everyone who wants to share. Every day on TheChocolateLife I learn something new from members who do me the courtesy and honor of sharing their passion for chocolate with me and with the world.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/19/15 04:11:24
First Sign of Chocolate in Ancient U.S. Found
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
First Sign of Chocolate in Ancient U.S. FoundChocolate made its U.S. debut about 1,000 years ago.Posted February 2, 2009 By Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Chocolate residues left on ancient jars mark cacao's earliest known presence north of what is now the U.S.-Mexico border.The residues, found on pottery shards excavated from a large pueblo (called Pueblo Bonito) in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico, suggest the practice of drinking chocolate had traveled from what is now Mexico to the American Southwest by about 1,000 years ago.People Who Read This Also ReadScientists have known about the early uses of chocolate in Mesoamerica, with evidence for rituals involving liquid drinks made from cacao beans dating back more than 1,000 years. (Mesoamerica extends from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua.) Chocolate debut Now, researchers think a similar ritual may have taken place in villages in Chaco Canyon. Patricia Crown of the University of New Mexico and Jeffrey Hurst of the Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition found traces of theobromine, which is in the Theobroma cacao plant that bears beans from which chocolate is made, on the shards. (The Hershey Center was established by the Hershey Company in 2006.)And Crown and Hurst suspect the shards came from cylinder jars, which measure an average of 10 inches tall (25 cm) and 4 inches (10 cm) wide. Only 200 such cylinder jars are known in the Southwest United States, almost all of which come from Pueblo Bonito.Scientists have put forth various explanations for how the jars were used, including as containers to hold exotic items like turquoise and as drums (with a skin cover)."If it was the form specifically used for drinking cacao, that would explain why it's such a specialized form," Crown said, referring to the jars.In Mesoamerica, residents would make the drinks by grinding up roasted cacao beans and adding hot or cool water. Sometimes other ingredients, such as honey for sweetening, cornmeal and even chili peppers, were added. The researchers are not sure if any other ingredients were mixed in with the Chaco Canyon drinks. Chocolate trade Since the cacao plant is tropical and can't be grown in New Mexico and other places in the United States, the researchers think the chocolate beans came from Mesoamerica, with the closest source being about 1,240 miles (2,000 km) away from the Chaco site.Next, Crown and Hurst hope to test wooden sticks found at the site for chocolate residues. The sticks have loops at the bottom, and Crown says perhaps they were used to stir and froth the chocolate drinks."An important thing in Mesoamerica was stirring it up so it had a froth in it," Crown told LiveScience. "The froth was considered the most delicious part of the drink."The research pair also wants to analyze other material from different time periods and areas in the Southwest. "It is the first known cacao north of the Mexican border in the United States, and as far as I know the only known cacao in the United States before contact," Crown said, referring to the time before European settlement of the area. "Unfortunately it's also the only cacao residue study that anyone has done using U.S. materials, so we need to find out how widespread chocolate was prior to contact in the American Southwest."The new research is detailed this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, University of New Mexico and Hershey's Technical Center, among others.
updated by @Casey: 12/13/24 12:16:07
Chocolate more prominent in other media recently
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
My 4 yr old son loves all the Chocolatier games (Chocolatier, Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredient, Chocolatier with a Twist). It's a blast to hear him talk about bars, squares, sauces, infusions, truffles, exotics and try to find the ingredients and recipes. One of his favorite chocolate combinations at home is dark chocolate with candied orange peel. So when he was able to "make" it on the Chocolatier games he was so excited. The games have also been a great learning tool for him because of the world travel involved in sourcing ingredients, setting up factories, and selling chocolates (he talks about the new places he wants to visit). Those games do have an educational component (certain characters mention some chocolate "facts" about growing conditions, history of chocolate, different flavors of different beans, etc.). Fun games.
Chocolate more prominent in other media recently
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
First, chocolate: the game? I've run across a couple of games recently which feature chocolate as the main goal. Here's Chocolate Shop Frenzy for the iPhone: http://www.digitalchocolate.com/games/mobile/chocolate-shop-frenzy.html This game has you running a chocolates shop. This game appears to fall under the sim/action puzzle genre.There's also, Chocolatier, which requires you to build a chocolate empire from scratch: http://www.playfirst.com/game/chocolatier This game also appears to be a sim type game, but more adventure education/learning.Next, did anyone else see the new Kashi commercial, which heavily featured cacao processing?
updated by @James Cary: 12/13/24 12:16:07
Cultivars and Related Species
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
The paper is titled 'Comparative study on the proteolytic activities and storage globulins in seeds of Theobroma grandiflorum (Wild ex Spreng) Schum and Theobroma bicolor Humb Bonpl, in relation to their potential to generate chocolate-like aroma' bit of a mouth full. This was published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in 2004 pg693, the corresponding author is Christoph Reisdorff of the Institute of Applied Botany, University of Hamburg.
Cultivars and Related Species
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
That would be great, tomorrow at noon I am going on the Garden Show on Kauai Community Radio, KKCR, www.kkcr.org to talk about various cultivars and related species of Theobroma Cacao. I have been a regular on the show in recent months promoting the growing of cacao, educating the public that cacao can grow on Kauai and that it can be sustainable viable agricultural industry.
Cultivars and Related Species
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
There is an interesting fermentation paper regarding that of bicolor and grandiflorum I'll try and dig up the ref.
Cultivars and Related Species
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
There are approximately 22 Theobroma species, and about 15 are utilized for their edible pulp or seeds. Cocoa, Theobroma cacao, is the most important species. Theobroma gileri (mountain cocoa), T. bicolor (macambo) and T. subincanum (wild cocoa) are other species utilized for their sweet, edible pulp and edible seeds.On Kauai we have started propagating Theobroma grandiflorum (Sterculiaceae) commonly called Cupuassu. The pulp is thick, somwhat fibrous, and very aromatic. It is also very acid, with a pH of 3.3. It is eaten fresh, and used in the preparation of drinks, ice cream, baked goods, candies and jams. The seeds contain a white, aromatic fat, similar to that of cocoa, that is used to make a type of white chocolate called cupulate. A portion of 100 g of seeds contains 15 g carbohydrate, 51 g fat and 20 g protein.Has any chocolate maker on the chocolate life every made cupulate? We are going to experiment with added cupulate to chocolate. We are also going to be cross pollinating different cultivars to find a more wind resistant strain. Is is possible to cross a T. bicolor (macambo) with a criollo? Does microbial fermentation of cupuassu seeds bring out the flavor or increase alkaloids? What are the levels of theobromine, phenelethamaine, and other chemicals in the various cultivars of theobroma? We hope to answer these and many more questions in the next few years.
updated by @Koa Kahili: 04/11/25 09:27:36
chocolate lovers!!
Posted in: Tasting Notes
hey guys,for all the choco lovers out there i have a sweet treat for ur guys...come and visit my website and write some comments about the blogs and other stuff :) http://www.chocolatefreakk.webs.com/
updated by @Chocolate Freakk: 05/21/15 05:14:06
Chocolate on TV- lots to watch on Food Network this week!!
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Amano Chocolate will be on the Food Network tonight on the show unwrapped. Lots of good shows this month. It's been fun so far.
Chocolate on TV- lots to watch on Food Network this week!!
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Ok here are 2 more shows to look out for, both on the History Channel:Feb 12, 8-9pm, Modern Marvels: The history of Candy -includes the Hershey co. and See's Candy Co.....Feb 13, 8-9pm, Modern Marvels: The history of Chocolate- includes the making of M&Ms and much more going back to the Aztecs....I think these have been shown before but still fun to watch....Enjoy!
Chocolate on TV- lots to watch on Food Network this week!!
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
February is really the month for chocolate shows on TV - Im sure due to Valentine's Day coming up. There are a lot of Chocolate themed shows on Food Network starting this week and more to come...ck your TV Guide or Food Network listings online for complete schedules (please post and share what you find so we can all set our DVRs!).What I know of so far:Sat 2/7 8pm-11pm is 3 hours of Food Network Challenge and Iron Chef all with highly renowned chefs competing with chocolate, then again more competitions on Sun 2/8 from 8-11pm. One of these is the Choc Evening Gowns competition from the NYC Choc Show, and another is creating major city landmarks entirely of chocolate.....enjoy and please share what else you find!
updated by @Chocoflyer: 12/13/24 12:16:07
Demise of Joseph Schmidt Brand?!!
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Everyone:I started a discussion on this topic a couple of days ago here. I am closing this topic to replies, so please share your comments there.
Demise of Joseph Schmidt Brand?!!
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
I saw the news that Hershey's was closing the San Francisco chocolate manufacturing of Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt chocolates.Scharffen Berger manufacturing is being moved to Hershey's revamped Illinois plant. But no news on what's happening with Joseph Schmidt.I just spoke with a wholesale customer service representative at Joseph Schmidt and she said that the employees were just told today that the Joseph Schmidt brand was being discontinued by Hershey's and all production will stop by summer 2009.I'm so sad about this news. Joseph Schmidt is a strong brand name and made good truffles at a reasonable price point. Yes, there are other artisan chocolatiers and truffles that are superior, but Joseph Schmidt was really good for the price.Why would Hershey's kill off the brand?
updated by @Truffles: 12/13/24 12:16:07
Mexican Tabasco ??
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
My process is to grind the nibs first until very fluid, then I add sugar, usually as powdered sugar (we can get that without cornstarch quite cheap in Australia), this does cause quite a bit of thickening. I alternatively add my cocoa butter with the sugar additions with a significant portion of cocoa butter added last. I have found that if I add the cocoa butter to the liquor and then start adding sugar it ends up thicker that when I do alternate additions. So perhaps that technique will work with your milk powder. After it has ground for a while it becomes fluid again it is just the initial additions that add the stress on the grinder.Thanks for the detail on your processing, I too found the bean very acidic which I find makes dark milk chocolate a little strange. Your lighter milk choc would have mellowed that out nicely I would think. Keep an eye on your dark choc batch with the roast I did ages ago it started to develope a 'blood orange' flavour note which was really nice - it had to age a while though.
Mexican Tabasco ??
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Do you normally "treat" your sugar when adding it to the liquor, Tom? Like by blending it with cocoa butter or something to make it less dry in the conching machine?Here are my notes:Mexican Tabasco Three level chocolate: Beginning January 30th, 2009Roasted 5 pounds of beans in a standard electric oven (not convection) at 300 degrees F. for about 25 minutes. This was in 5 layers of pierced pizza pans on a circular pizza stone with one inch tall metal supports between pans for air circulation. The beans in the top pan were over-roasted but still useable . (the metal supports are actually paint roller metal grates, with short feet that set in a paint roller pan; cost about $1.95 each at WalMart.Jan. 31st 2009 Began processing by running roasted beans through Crankenstein and winnowing. Ended up with 3.5 lbs of nibs; cleanest so far.Processed nibs through Champion Juicer and ended up with 3.33 lbs of liquor. Added vanilla bean through juicer then put liquor, one Tbs. lethicin, 4 oz of melted cocoa butter and 1.64 lbs sugar into Ultra wet grinder to begin conching. This will be about 5 lbs of 66% dark chocolate when finished. Machine ran from 12 noon Jan 31st to 5:30 PM Feb 1st 2009. About 29.5 hrs. Stopped conching then at temperature of 122degrees F.Pulled off 2 pounds of 66% dark and added:At 5:30 pm Feb 1st 2009, 4oz. dry goat milk dissolved in 2 oz. cocoa butter and added 8 oz of sugar. This works out to about 43% dark milk chocolate. Conched until 5:30 pm Feb 2nd 2009. 24 hours.Pulled off one pound of dark milk chocolate (43%). Wrapped in saran wrap to store.5: 30 PM Feb 2nd 2009 added 8 oz. of sugar, 4 oz of dried milk to make 3 pounds of light milk chocolate at about 29%. Conched until 6 pm Feb 3rd, 2009. About 24 hours.Comments from friends and thoughts:Dark chocolate did seem to have a slightly burnt taste but seems to have lost that over a period of days following processing. Dark milk has a very nice flavor, strong chocolate, but more acidic than usually expected, this acidity seems also to be fading with time. (but then again, maybe we are just getting used to it)The light milk chocolate gets good reviews from people who prefer milk chocolate; but this is to be expected as this is the lightest milk chocolate that I have made so far. These people were somewhat dissatisfied with my earlier milk chocolates which were in the 50- 60 % range. The light milk chocolate is useful to me in making spirits based ganaches. It does not overpower a sherry or brandy or port ingredient.The down side of this light milk chocolate is the length of additional time needed to run the Ultra machine and stress on its motor due to dry milk added and resultant thickening of chocolate. May just need to add several more ounces of cocoa butter and heat the metal conching drum full of chocolate in the oven for several hours during every 8 hour period.Next up: Ghana. When I get back from a vacation trip. Will try date sugar with that one. Any advice from anyone?
Mexican Tabasco ??
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Will respond in full soon, Tom. I'm wanting to get feedback from tasters on the "lighter Mexican Tabasco milk chocolate" before I answer you back. I may have over-roasted one tray (20 %) of the beans. Dark is very nice. 66%. Will try the Date Sugar on the next batch of beans when I can buy another pound of it. Health food store is out of it now.
Mexican Tabasco ??
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Sorry not to reply earlier, I've had computer issues. That is my daughter helping with the winnowing.I too have worked my way through Johns offerings and want to try the stuff here, piss poor exchange rate and limited time are hampering that. The offerings have me salivating though. I am using a local supplier (Tava) I can get 15kgs for about $170 inc. shipping and their beans are incredibly different (from Vanuatu). They have a huge chocolate flavour note and if you let the chocolate age for a bit it tastes like chocolate pudding with a bit of booze in it - fantastic. It is my crowd pleaser chocolate.The formulations I suggested are just the ones that keep people happy here, I range my formulations from around 40% beans to up to 70% depending on what I want. The formulas I suggest give a texture and flavour release similar to Cluizel (the only decent choc available to me readily in Australia). I did try and emulate a 75% Madagascar from Pralus with what I thought was with some success I used 70% beans, 5% butter and 25% sugar - it packs a punch.Good luck with the date sugar, sounds interesting.
Mexican Tabasco ??
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks for the reference to Madagascar, Tom. Thats the one I just finished working with so it will be fresh in my memory. After this Mexican Ill have one more, the Ghana, which will finish out my experiences with the offerings by John Nanci over at Chocolate Alchemy. Then Ill start with the beans that Clay Gordon has to offer on this site. Will begin roasting the Mexican beans tonight and start processing tomorrow morning.By the way, I built a winnower like the one you pictured here under winnowing, the photo with the little girl on the table, your daughter? We have Ace Hardware here and I bought a vent fan at Ace which I hope is powerful enough to float the shells off the nibs after running them through the Crankenstien. Have to play with pvc pipe lengths to get the proper heights.So far, all my equipment from John N. is working well. Im using the Ultra wet grinder and giving it a work out. Seems to be holding up ok.Your suggestion on added cocoa butter is more than Ive added in the past for either milk or dark chocolate. I have usually added 4-6 oz of butter to the initial batch of about 4.5 lbs of liquor at the beginning of conching. (Some of that I may have added during liquification in the Champion Juicer ) And then try not to add any more except to lubricate the batch if/when it begins to stiffen up during refinement. (I now know that heating the stiff chocolate in the oven for a few hours does a better job to get the rollers moving again. Better than just adding melted cocoa butter. My room temp is about 64 F in the workshop in winter).The way Im figuring your numbers, I might be adding another 4 oz of butter to a remaining 3 pound batch of milk chocolate (after taking off 3 pounds of dark from a 6 lb mass). I might just try this but Im remembering the butter I bought is not de-oderized. That could add some flavor of its own but that may not be bad.Ill document my roast times and conching times as accurately as I can and let you know the details. I limit ingredients to about a table spoon of soy lethacin and a half, raw vanilla bean per 4.5 lbs of liquor. Thats been pretty standard for my process.The only other twist that Ive been thinking about is using some date sugar from a local health food store instead of cane sugar. Just to see what flavors might develop from that. It runs about $6.00 a pound here; Id be looking at $20-$30 per batch for sugar alone if using date sugar. It might add some interesting flavors and I guess it would need to be dried in an oven prior to mixing in with liquor.Thanks again for the information.FrankPS we have a local guy starting up a micro-distillery and Ill be working with him to feature his spirits as fillings for my molded chocolates. So far Im practicing with store bought bourbon , brandy and wines as fillers. The bourbon in a Panama dark milk chocolate ganache used to fill a dark (66%) Panama shell has come out really nice. I used 4 Tbs spirits in about one cup of ganache and then added another 1.5 oz of 55% milk chocolate to thicken the ganache back up to a near solid.
Mexican Tabasco ??
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I have worked with them before, they are very acidic, I would suggest a roast a bit longer than I would for a Madagascar. As for formulation I think you will be ok with your dark (do a fairly long conche to drive off as much acid as you can) but for the dark milk choc you have proposed I would back off the cocoa and up the milk, I find that with the formulation I usually use (10% milk powder) it is too acidic for it. I would look at doing something like 40% beans, 15% butter, 30% sugar and 15% milk. Having said this I haven't tried this as I ran out but when I next get some I will try this formula. The previous one I used was 45% beans and 10% milk - very strange. I think my suggested formula will bring it more in line with say the Cluizel Madagascar milk choc. You may want to go even further. Keep us posted you might save me an experiment.
Mexican Tabasco ??
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Anybody have experience and/or hints on roasting and processing Mexican Tabasco? I have a new shipment of 5 lbs of beans and would like some input on roast levels and duration if anybody has experience.Also, I have not tried a split roast blend with any of my beans as yet. Like a 50 % medium and 50% dark roast blended at the winnowing stage. Anyone tried this?Also, I usually do a base process of 66% for the dark chocolate and then draw off 3 lbs of that from the wet grinder and add milk and more sugar for a 45%-50% milk chocolate on the remainder. Any suggestions on these additive levels? (I dont like higher cocoa because Im filling the chocolate mold shells with wine jelly and spirits creamsnot to be overpowered by bitter chocolate )Thanks
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Mixed News From Hershey: Recession is Good - Closing Plants
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Hershey did not consolidate small divisions of their business, they closed 7 out of 23 plants many of which were making huge profits for this company, the Smiths Falls plant in Canada made a consistent profit for this company for 44 years that why Hershey sunk $50 million in this facility in the past 5 years.The former CEO Rick Lenny ( the hackett man that he is ) made a huge mistake and moved American and Canadian jobs to Mexico, that's why Hershey`s stocks have been in the "loo" for the past 2 years and consumer are ticked off with this company.
Mixed News From Hershey: Recession is Good - Closing Plants
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Tell me if it is more practical to produce and ship from a central location in the US then why has Hershey after 50 years in Canada closed every single manufacturing facility and sent this production including all the jobs to Mexico.Even when shipping and production cost are lower in Canada than the US and sugar prices in Canada are cheaper than Mexico, not to mention Canada has some of the purest milk on this planet.Please explain how evil and greed are not the culprit here, and I do understand Hershey`s ways as I worked for them for 20 years.
Mixed News From Hershey: Recession is Good - Closing Plants
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
why did SB and Schmidt sell to Hershey's to begin with ?I cant speak for joseph but john scharfenberger told me shortly after the sale...''They paid me so much money I dont care if they break my baby"It was honest.
Mixed News From Hershey: Recession is Good - Closing Plants
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
"1) Educational infrastructure"Not only for the chocolate maker, but also the customers. Chocolate tasting instructions. In my market, people eat chocolate so fast that is impossible to taste anything but sugar. When a representative of Vahlrona came to Israel and tasted Israel's chocolate company his response was "they use high quality sugar"! The public needs to be reintroduced to the concept of chocolate.For 2 & 3 thanks for helping Clay.Jo