alternatives to champion juicer
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
There's a video of the Wondermill JR grinding cacao here:
Forum Activity for @Ben Rasmussen
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
alternatives to champion juicer
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hey Chocophiles,
Ive been doing more and more, playing at home with small batches of beans. <3#. I still dont have a way to make a proper liquor. Doing it in the melanguer, is....far from good and requires babysitting for ~45 minutes....
I was wondering at how well a Wondermill JR or a peanut butter machine would work? The Wondermill JR has a small youtube clip saying it does mash it up, but I was wondering how well that paste processes in a melangeur.
Cheers all!
updated by @Alan Caldwell: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Belcolade opinions?
Posted in: Opinion
Hi!What's your opinion on Belcolade couvertures? Especially the noir superieur or other darks? Opinions on any of their product line appreciated
updated by @Krista2: 04/10/15 08:49:06
Seeking Comments on Felchlin Dark Chocolate
Posted in: Tasting Notes
In all my internet explorations I had not come across your very useful site; I am glad you pointed it out. And I appreciate your comments on the Felchlin Cru Sauvage in particular. I was, however, surprised at your review of Valrhona's Caraibe (my current dark chocolate), namely, that it was too sweet. I am thinking that if you found that product too sweet (I found it too bitter, except perhaps with the sweetest of ganaches), we have very different palates, and I had better prepare myself for tasting Cru Sauvage. Thanks for your help.
Seeking Comments on Felchlin Dark Chocolate
Posted in: Tasting Notes
I also really enjoyed the Cru Sauvage, even though I only had it in couverture. (I forget the term for those little round discs.) See my review notes attached. I think it would be an excellent choice if it fits your budget.
I have also reviewed 4 other Felchlin chocolates. You can find my reviews at ChocoFiles .
Seeking Comments on Felchlin Dark Chocolate
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Vera,
Thanks for those very helpful links.
Seeking Comments on Felchlin Dark Chocolate
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Hi Jim, Excellent choice! I love Felchlin, especially the Cru Sauvage. You can find more information of both Grand Cru's on their website:
http://www.felchlin.com/en/product/cacao-maracaibo
http://www.felchlin.com/en/product/cacao-bolivia
Call the distributor for samples and taste them. I'm curious to your opinion!
http://www.felchlin.com/en/continent/usa-central-south-america
Chocolove, Vera
Seeking Comments on Felchlin Dark Chocolate
Posted in: Tasting Notes
I am interested in finding a different dark chocolate and am thinking of Felchlin products. Unfortunately I have not seen a source for small amounts of the chocolates, and so am seeking comments from those who have tried the two in which I am most interested.
The two chocolates are Cru Sauvage and Maracaibo. As a point of reference, I started my chocolate experience using several different Callebaut products (including their 70% dark), then moved to Valrhona Caraibe, which I am finding a little bitter for my taste (I have tasted most of Valrhona's dark chocolates and Caraibe was my favorite).
I have read good things about the two Felchlin products. Any comments will be appreciated.
updated by @Jim Dutton: 04/11/15 15:41:17
lumpy chocolate
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
My strong suspiscion is that you're using small moulded pieces (callets), and that it was not freshly produced (it has some age on it i suspect). my guess is what you're seeing is the result of the callets picking up ambient moisture, and subsequnetly thickening. depending on how much moisture it's picked up, you may be able to com pensate by adding 0.1% fluid lecithin to it and letting it mix vigorously at 120F for 15 minutes. If that helps, but doesn't get you all the way there, you can try adding an additional 0.1% lecithin - however that may actually make it worse. lecithin works up to a point, after which it has the opposite effect.
Alternateitively, what you may be seeing is the result of heat abuse (getting it too hot). if that's what it is, i'm afraid there is no fix.
lumpy chocolate
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
hello everyone..
i have a question regarding the chocolate i use. I use belcolade mik chocolate and Im satisfied with the product. Although I have had several issues with it...I melted it to mould them and no filling, the problem is that the texture was very lumpy..what do you think might have been the problem? I did not temper that batch...do you think thats the problem or tempering just affects the look of the chocolate and not the lumpiness? could it be that it was over heated?
thanx for any advice in advance
have a gr8 day
updated by @Christine de Massis: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Best purees?
Posted in: Opinion
Krista:
One reason to use purees over making your own is consistency. The large producers have the expertise and equipment to make products with consistent flavor from batch to batch and year to year. That's hard to do of you're buying or growing your own fruit and making small batches. That said, making your own, when the fruit is handy, gives you control you don't have when you buy a puree.
In my experience, I tend to like some flavors from one vendor and other flavors from others. If I were to get into business making fruit-flavored confections I would probably source from multiple providers even though it makes buying more challenging.
One thing to consider, especially for fruits like passion fruit and guanabana is that there are several brands that are very inexpensive that you can find in the frozen section of supermarkets that cater to the Hispanic community or that are in Hispanic neighborhoods. Often these are unsweetened and they tend to be very cheap compared with fancier imports. They may or may not be to your taste but for a couple of bucks per flavor it's not expensive to experiment.
Best purees?
Posted in: Opinion
The only brand I've used so far is boiron and I really liked the flavor of the passion fruit but the morello cherry has too much sugar added. It's excessively sweet to my taste. The passion fruit was extremely runny like juice so I had to reduce it a lot. Just wondering how it rates compared to others since this is all I've tried as far as premade. Passion fruit would be pretty hard to come by here fresh, and when I can get it it's pretty spendy. I'm curious what brands are considered best/worst quality.
Best purees?
Posted in: Opinion
As far as I can tell from the Qzina website, they sell only Sicoly pures. For a long time, Boiron was the brand everybody spoke of, practically the standard, but I have noticed of late that many suppliers have been switching to other brands. L'Epicerie in New York switched to Ponthier a year or so ago, gourmetfoodworld.com carries Ravifruit, markys.com still sells Boiron, and perfectpuree.com (of California) sells its own product.
Best purees?
Posted in: Opinion
The best purees are the ones you make yourself out of fresh fruit. It's very easy - almost criminal to buy some if you have the fruit readily accessible.
Having said that, Qzina Specialty Foods has many types of great frozen purees. www.qzina.com
Cheers
Brad
Best purees?
Posted in: Opinion
Hi! I'm wanting to get advice on the best brands of fruit purees and best places to order them. Any advice greatly appreciated
updated by @Krista2: 04/09/15 20:30:41
Easter egg starch molds
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Good afternoon,
Mod Pac sells boxes for 1/4lb., 1/2lb. and 1lb. chocolate eggs; the kinds that are filled with peanut butter filling, coconut, raspberry, etc. I am having trouble find the starch mold that is the right size to fit in those ModPac boxes. Does anyone here know the source for the appropriate size mold?
Thanks for any help!
updated by @Nicole5: 04/07/25 13:00:14
Bean to Bar - space required?
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
the pasturization i beleive is done before the roasting to prevent contamination of your space.. salmonella etc.. the roasting should otherwise kill all bacterias.
are you going to use a combo machine like the cocoatown grindeur.. or a grinder, melangeur, rolls, and a concha??
Bean to Bar - space required?
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
Thank you for your reply Cortland.
I am in CA - why do you ask? (For cooling load purposes?)
We're interested in producing primarily dark / milk chocolate, in various flavors - mostly solid (bar), but also some filled and possibly as products products develop and our processes refined other products such as truffles.
Thanks again 
Bean to Bar - space required?
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
where are you?? what kind of chocolate do you want to make??
Bean to Bar - space required?
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
Hello.
Me and some friends are planning on opening a small artisan chocolate business - mostly retail sales to locals. One of them has extensive experience working with chocolate, but not creating it from the bean.
I'm looking to get an idea of how much floor space I'd need to reserve for a complete set of equipment that would take the for the roasting, winnowing, grinding, refining, tempering - and any other ancillary equipment. (E.g, if I need steam for the "pasteurization" during roasting, I'd need a boiler)
The first question I will be asked - is volume.
That's a bit complex at this time - we would need enough equipment to cover expenses for the (small) facility that will also serve as the retail outlet, and that's where my concern is... I of course would want to minimize equipment cost but I "get" that it is extremely hard to be profitable with the smallest equipment out there. I believe that any surplus chocolate volume could be used in the other food business of one of the principles - so I don't think I can "overdo" it in terms of capacity with the limited space we have. However the target location - which I believe to be perfect for this retail application, is about 1000 square feet.
That would have to be enough for the equipment, and a retail counter, and other support areas.
Care to offer any advice? Thank you!!!
updated by @Joe: 12/13/24 12:16:49
2014 Good Food Awards Winners Announced
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Awesome! Great to hear and good job everyone! :D
2014 Good Food Awards Winners Announced
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
LOTS of ChocolateLife members on these two lists.
I got to taste most of the winning confections as a judge last September and got a chance to taste most of the chocolates last night. A stand-out collection across the board.
Congrats to everyone.
CHOCOLATE
Askinosie Chocolate, 62% Dark Milk Chocolate, Fleur de Sel, Missouri
Blue Bandana Chocolate Maker , Madagascar Wild Pepper 70% Dark & Madagascar 70% Dark, Vermont
Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate , 72% Belize, Toledo , California
Fruition Chocolate , Dominican 70%, New York
Guittard Chocolate Company , Collection Etienne Eureka Works Meritage Blend #27 | 100%, California
Madre Chocolate , Triple Cacao, Hawaii
Patric Chocolate , Signature 70% Blend & Mocha OMG, Missouri
Rogue Chocolatier , Silvestre, Hispaniola, Balao, Massachusetts
Videri Chocolate Factory , 90% Dark Chocolate Ecuador Camino Verde , North Carolina
CONFECTIONS
Alma Chocolate , Sea Salt Hazelnut Crunch Bar, Oregon
Cacao Art Chocolates , Tupelo Honey and Cardamom, Florida
Chocolats Latour LLC , Rosemary Almond Brittle, Ohio
Coco Delice , Beer Bon Bon , California
Feve Artisan Chocolatier , Hazelnut Crunch Bar, California
Fruition Chocolate , Brown Butter Bourbon Caramels, New York
Kakao Chocolate , Lavender Truffle, Missouri
Nosh This , Almond Toffee, California
Nutty Stephs, Inc. , Salted Caramel Bar, Vermont
Patric Chocolate , Mint CRUNCH Chocolate Bar, Missouri
Sapore della Vita , Caramel Sauce, Florida
Serendipity Confections , Chocolate Covered Butter Caramels with Fleur de Sel, Colorado
Trini Treats, LLC , Coconut Fudge, New York
WR Chocolatier , Mocha, North Carolina
Xocolatl de David , Raleigh Bar & Brown Butter Bar, Oregon
The complete list of winners (including all the other categories) is here .
updated by @Clay Gordon: 12/13/24 12:16:07
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Hello, not sure if anyone is still watching this thread but I have gone from not knowing a thing about packaging to having my bars on the market. Sold out in hours on the debut with a small store. This display, which I made, works well for horizontal labels.
Got sleeves, paper backed foil and am rocking. Now I need to up my production!!!
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
We use alufoil, www.alufoil.com . They have different colors (we use blue) and can do custom sizes for a very good price.
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Jim, I buy mine from Bags for Gifts online.
Low prices and fast service. Its paper back foil I buy, but they offer foil too.
Here is a link:
http://www.bagsforgifts.com/candy-foil-c-57.html
Look around their web site.
Best of luck!
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Does anyone know of a source for pre cut aluminum foil squares? Not really square, rectangle 4" X 6" to wrap chocolate?
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Hmm, that is a good question. I am actually unsure as our designer had uploaded it all and specified what we wanted. We have been happy with the quality, but it is true, the paper is not super thin.
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Hi Gabriel,
I missed seeing your reply yesterday. Wax paper, wow! Do you mean it is not a pre-pared sleeve, but a sheet your wrap and seal? Looks good either way. Do you do your own printing on the recycled paper? What weight is the recycled paper?
Best,
Mack
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Thank you Meira. I just sent them an email to get a price quote.
What weight of paper did you use? I currently use 32# paper, hope to get a slightly lighter paper.
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Hi Mark - we originally used an online option called uprinting - we now may move to using someone local for our next round - but Uprinting was actually fairly decently prices (I think maybe $30 for 500 if I remember correctly?? There is a local designer attached to our kitchen space who suggested we use uprinting. We have had some administrative problems with them, but their prints are nice and well priced.
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
I've used various glues as well as a couple different 'glue tape' type things. The best I've found so far is the Scotch Tape Glider:
http://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Advanced-Glider-4-Inch-36-Yard/dp/B00409NNYM/ref=pd_bxgy_ac_text_y
The applicator is very handy when doing a lot of wrappers, and the tape is less expensive than any of the others I've tried.
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Thanks I will look into it. Both the double sided tape and the glue.
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Hi Mack,
They are separate. The base layer is wax paper which is put on with a machine using heat to crimp the edges together. The sleeve or label is just a sheet of high quality recycled paper that I stick on with sellotape.
You can study one in detail - if you buy one!
It's a very cheap method but I feel it matches the current 'rustic' trends or fashion if you like. Remember though I have designed this for the British market so not sure just how well it would work abroad...
Regards
Gabriel
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
I use a double sided tape that is micro thin and comes in a roller applicator. It leaves a sticky film, not really tape at all. Works great.
I apply in 3 spots along the seam to save tape. The product is sold at Staples and is called "Permanent Glue Tape".
I'll be curious as to what other TCL forum members use.
updated by @Mack Ransom: 09/08/15 20:32:26
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
whatever is on sale
I've been look for more eco-friendly option let me know if you find one.
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Hi Gabriel, I am curious how you make your wrapper, do you have printer or a commercial wrapper company who makes them, or do you print yourself too?
I am also curious about your sleeve around your bar, is it separate from the wrapper with the logo. I can't tell from the photo if it is all one piece or two.
Thanks!
Mack
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Can I ask what glue you use? I am still using tape and the bigger stores are not impressed! I can't find glue that drys quickly enough though...
Display boxes for chocolate bars
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Yes, that is my next step, once I stop changing my wrapper designs that is!
Thanks!