Forum Activity for @Kathryn James

How does one make a living in the chocolate business?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks for asking the question. Reading the various answers has given me a lot to think about. Just last night I was saying to my husband "I just want to make the chocolates! I'm only selling them because I don't want to eat them all and you can't make just one truffle. I don't want to think about the business stuff--I want someone else to think about it for me and if they say I need to make x amount of this and x amount of that, that's fine, I just don't want to think about it!" But really, right now it's all me, so I guess I don't have that luxury.

How does one make a living in the chocolate business?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Wendy;

A few moments ago I was lying in bed, and brought up your post here on my blackberry. I had to come downstairs to my computer and write you a reply. Here is a GREAT opportunity for you to read your post back to yourself while keeping in mind the three golden rules I wrote in bold earlier on.

You say "I'm a very hard worker..." I say "Work smart not hard."

You say "I'm an artist...not a business person..." I say "Business is about one thing: money"

How do you work smart and not hard? Well, the first thing you need to do is come to the realization that your recipes probably aren't unique, and that someone somewhere has most likely already created what you have. LET GO!!! In all honesty, it'sa very liberating and rewarding feeling to share your "creations" with those around you who are interested. ALL of my recipes are available if people ask. In fact I post our chocolate recipe right on our bars. Just this month I've started hosting truffle making classes, and actually TEACH people how to make the truffles we do in our shop. They have a wonderful time and will always be our customers, even though they possess my "secrets".

The second thing in working smart, not hard is to understand that the best manager/coach is someone who teaches those around them to be BETTER than they are. Think about it: If you can teach 4 staff members to ice cupcakes to a higher standard than you, not only does the quality of your product increase, but you have in essence quadrupled production without ever icing a single cupcake!

LET GO! Become the coach. Your staff will respect you more for your ability to guide and teach them, and WANT to please you.

Now for the business end of things - the "business is about money" part of it. Develop, test, and marketa line of products that become your business's bread and butter - products that sell every day regardless of season. These products should have a "fresh" aspect to them, should appeal to your customers and NOT necessarily you, and should generate high profitability (food cost around 15%, and labour cost around 20%). The "fresh" aspect is what will have your customers returning for more, regularly, because the product isn't shelf stable. They NEED to come back.

Never release a product until it's been thoroughly tested with customers and focus groups, and a thorough cost analysis has been done to determine profitability. How long does it take to make the product from start to finish in terms of manhours? What's your food cost? What's the top price thresh-hold? How can this be marketed?

Stay true to the product lines you create. I can't stress enough that as a general rule, people don't like change. If they buy something today and like it, they want to come back tomorrow and buy more, and will most likely tell their friends about their purchase too, prompting their friends to come in looking for it. If you disagree with this, why do you think that the Baby Ruth,O-Henry, Coffee Crisp, and Kit Katchocolate bars have been around for so many years? How do you think the term "comfort food" came to be?

While keeping your regular "tried and true" product lines, you can delve into your personal creative side by offering your return customers with "Wendy Buckner Specials" - limited edition creations that you have put your personal touch on. This allows you to continue developing your skills and recipes, while at the same time determining if the techniques used to create your new confections can be taught to your staff and can eventually become part of your regular product offering. Essentially in this regard you are being paid by your customers to experiment and further develop your skills.

By building your business in this fashion, you are training your staff to be able to operate the business independently of you. If you decide to take a month off, well... next month you won't be offering any "Wendy Buckner Specials". But that's ok, because your return customers will still have the "tried and true" products your staff have been well trained to make, to purchase. This model allows you to play with chocolate at your leisure, and still have a life.

In closing, always ask yourself, "If I can't be here tomorrow or the next day, or next week, who needs to know what, in order for this business to continue to grow?" Answer the question, and then ensure the right people are taught what they need to know. It will give you immense peace of mind.

Hope this helps.

Good Night.

Brad.

How does one make a living in the chocolate business?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you for asking this question! I too started my business in 2008. This has been the hardest thing I have ever done...because I am an artist...not a business person...but I sure have learned a lot! I appreciate hearing what everyone has contributed because I am SO ready to step out of production and start making money. I have spent most of my time getting the business started over the last 3 years...very long hours...making mostly all of my product myself (until recently hiring a small staff), trying to sell and reach out to new customers, dealing with most customers face to face... I joke about how I have aged myself 10 years in 3. I am a very hard worker...and it is really hard for me to turn over my recipes and techniques to others, although I am extremely grateful for help! It has been 6 months since I hired my staff and things are getting easier...but I have a really long way to go! I poured my life into the business...and I feel like it owes me something now. I'm ready to grow and get my life back! I will NEVER give up working with chocolate! It is my passion and I have no desire to work with anything else...but I want to be able to enjoy life too... SO, I too, am eager to hear more responses from others of how they "did it". I love my shop, we are doing really well and I believe in our products. I have faith that all of my (and my husband's) work will pay off. Any suggestions and advice are much appreciated. Sometimes I feel like I need a coach...or a consultant... Don't you sometimes just wish that someone would just tell you what your next move should be? (SIGHhhhhhhhh) I do enjoy the challenge... but I want to bring home the bacon sometime soon! Clay, Brad, and Mimi...I LOVE hearing your thoughts! I wish Daniel luck in success as well! ~Wendy

How does one make a living in the chocolate business?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Brad et all,

I work about 35 hours a week and this number is much less that two years ago. The business is in my head most of the time but mostly happy thoughts. I take 3 or 4 one week ( 10 days usually to Ecuador) vacations plus about five 3 to 4 day weekends off in a year and my crew is consistently amazing and do a great job in my absence. If I was not at work most of the time I would not feel part of the team and enjoy the business the way I do. Every day I think of the magic of what we produce, the great South American chocolate, my travels here and the collaboration with so many local food producers. I do not aim to make a lot of money- My experience that money pollute many people's minds. My model of business is just another kind than the one you are describing and there is no right or wrong.

Happy Valentine's Day to all! Always happy to discuss and support others. Great website Clay. Thanks!! MImi

How does one make a living in the chocolate business?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Mimi;

I'm curious to know how many hours a week you work? Is your presence required for the business to run smoothly? How much time off have you taken in the past couple of years? On any given Wednesday, can you wake up and say "I'm going away for next 4,7,10 days." and do so with a clear conscience. Can you enjoy those days away from the business truly knowing your business isn't going to suffer? Was your presence required during the past Christmas rush? Is your presence required today, Valentine's Day?

If youhave to be there to operate the business, then it owns you. You don't own it.

You may disagree with what I've written above, but I guarantee that while encouraging your staff to be creative as you mention in your post above, at the end of the day they still need to produce enough product to justify their wages, cover your overhead, and yes.... put money in your pocket too. I guarantee that the moment money stops landing in your pocket things will change. Havingsaid that, whether you do it on a large scale, or small scale, the underlying principles I outlined above still apply.

That doesn't mean you can't enjoy doing what makes you money. It just means that you don't have 100% freedom todo everything you want, because as you know, some of it will cause you to lose money.

In the end though, in my opinion,true freedom is defined by going into your place of business and working because you WANT to, not because you have to, and that ability comes from working smart, not hard.

Brad.

How does one make a living in the chocolate business?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello to all! My point of view differs a bit from what has been said. I am close to 60 and started this business 8 years ago as a second career and did not set out to make a fortune but aiming for a smaller revenue. I started with a couple of thousand dollars of my saving in investment and rented space. I use fairly simple tempering pots and keep a relatively small overhead. I employ 4-8 people and have production, retail, web sales and wholesale. I started from the principle: "if you build it they will come" and it worked for me. The mortgage was almost paid and the kids were out of college. Some would call me naive but it has been a joyful journey with consistent and manageable growth and last year a 40 % increase in sales. A very noticeble store front, great graphics and logo, passion for the work and customer contacts and a fantastic staff who love what they do and are encouraged to be creative is my success.n Always happy to support others on their "journey". Mimi

How does one make a living in the chocolate business?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Jessica;

I could be at my shop all day if I wanted to be. What's important tolearn here is that a chocolate business can be built in such a way that it gives the owner CHOICES. Most entrepreneurs don't have those choices. There's a colloquialism for not having those choices. It's called "Retail Jail".

By building my chocolatebusiness in the manner that I have, I can get up most mornings and decide what I would like to do that day. Did the mountains get a big dump of snow? Should I go skiing? Or should I work on that coconut creme/passion fruit truffle center I've been mulling over lately? Or should I go spend a day with my daughter?

As a serial entrepreneur who has had many successes and failures over the years, I've learned that it's important to be passionate about what you do to make money, but making money isn't everything. It's also important to balance your life with other things.

I'm passionate about chocolate. I'm also passionate about my daughter and extreme sports. All three of these are important components of who I am and how I live my life. However, only one makes me money, so I have to embrace that passion in such a way that it allows me the freedom to embrace the other two just as much. It just so happens there are some "school of hard knocks" lessons that I've had to learn in order to do so. If I can pass those on to others, then I'm happy to do that too.

This tiny window into "Brad" dovetails nicely into what Clay writes below. To summarize, he says you need to evaluate your skills and priorities, but to never lose focus that what you have isa businesswhichneeds many different (and sometimes mutually exclusive components)to make money. There's no place for ego in business.

...and don't forget to balance your life.

Cheers

Brad

How does one make a living in the chocolate business?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

wow, that's some great growth. But shucks on the you not being much in the kitchen anymore. I was working up the courage to ask if a stge might be possible. I'm really dying to get a closer view on the chocolate making end of things.

How does one make a living in the chocolate business?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Daniel -

Brad makes some very good points, but I think it makes some sense to generalize them.

In the chocolate business, there are (very broadly speaking) the creative side, the production side, and the sales side of the business. It is often the case that the person who starts the business is really good in the first two, and not so good on the third. In the end, to grow the business, you need to decide what your personal core competencies and interests are and what you are not good at and don't like doing.

For the long-term success of the business, you need to find people with complementary skills and interests to fill those gaps.

It also helps to understand your definition of what success is - your visions for a) where you want the business to go and b) what you personally want to achieve from and through the business ... keeping in mind that, first and foremost, it has to be a real business in order to achieve either a) or b).

If what you want to do is make a respectable living and support yourself and your family - that's an okay goal. What does that mean to you? $100,000/year after taxes? What level of sales and its underlying cost structure - and people resources - are required to get you there? Do you want to grow a $10 million business? Then a different focus is required.

But never, never, never lose focus on the fact that it has to be a real business and part of making it a business is putting aside your ego and acknowledging that you will make mistakes about what the market wants to buy, and that you actually have all the skills to make it work. If you're great at selling and can close large orders, it makes sense for you to be selling if you're the only person in the organization who can - even if your heart and soul is in the kitchen doing production. If you want to be in the kitchen then you need someone to do the sales to support that decision.

How does one make a living in the chocolate business?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

1. Drill it into your brain that business is about one thing: money. Business is not about talent and artistic ability. Business is about money. Period. Yeah, brownies are boring. 1,000 brownies are 1,000 times more boring. However 1,000 brownies over the course of the month pays your rent. Business is about money.

2. Find out what your customers want and then give it to them. Talented people go out of business for lots of reasons - one of the most common being Ego. They feel that THEY are the talent, THEY feel that only THEY can create the product that people like, and THEY don't manage their time/cost ratio. Yet they never ask the end customer what the customer thinks! Sure, they can make a chocolate sculpture that rivals a Michelangelo. However how many can they make in an 8 hour day which they canpackage and sellat prices that people will be willing to pay? Better yet, how many can their staff make? In the end, the talented person works themselves into a corner - busy being artistic, and in the end there isn't enough time in the day, and they don't get paid enough for what they do, so... poof! They don't make enough money and they're done.

A really good example of this is an "ice wine" truffle. When I started in the business, I had several chocolatiers insist that I "had" to have an ice wine truffle center on the menu. It was one of their biggest sellers. Today, my shop offers over 500 different varieties of custom made truffles, and the "ice wine" has been discontinued because it's the least popular. Why is that you ask? The reason is because when people visit an averagechocolate shop, they make their purchases through a process of elimination - starting with the ones they dislike the most, then narrowing it down to a couple of confections they like, and a few they can tolerate. Apparently the ice wine center fell into the "tolerate" category with my peers. Conversely at my shop, when people are given choices of anything they want, theyalways start with what they like most, and go down the list like that. In our shop people prefer other more convential centers, than the "creative" or "artistic" ones.

WHY???

BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE CREATURES OF HABIT!!! MOST PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE STEPPING OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE - ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO SPENDING MONEY. Find out what your customers like, and then give it to them!!! Be artistic on your own time, but remember, business is about getting your customers to open their wallets and give you money.

2. Work smart not hard. What's your time worth? Should you be sitting over a vat of chocolate all day hand dipping truffles, or can you pay someone $10 per hour to do that simple task while you get on the phone and drum up some more business? Can the $10 per hour person drum up business? In the confectionary business, if you are making confections you aren't making any money.

These are three great rules to begin with, and will totally change the way you look at your business. I live by these rules, my business is doing extremely well, and after only a couple of years I never have to be in the shop helping customers and making chocolate or confections. I enjoy life, and research new recipes for my staff to offer our customers.

You can too. IF you follow some basic rules about business.

Cheers

Brad

How does one make a living in the chocolate business?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

One thing that all of us have in common is a passion for chocolate. It is important to find meaning in work and for some reason I find meaning in chocolate. I love the process of making chocolate confections, especially on a large scale. I have been working hard on my own chocolate business since I started in late 2008. I'm still quite small with big bursts of business at the Holidays and at Valentine's. While I don't believe we should continue to blame everything on the economy, I have noticed quite a few extremely talented chocolatiers going out of business. I would love to hear from others how they make their business work year round? Thanks in advance!

Daniel

updated by @Daniel Herskovic: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Hershey - How Responsible is Responsible?

Posted in: Opinion

When the biggest companies tap into (or at least make it look like it) socially responsible projects, it is a good sign that there is a good share of market for it. They do not create thatawareness and market demands, on the contrary they go for the cheaper and more profitable ways, while small producers work on that front. When a critical mass of consumers is there, they jump in and make it their cause, and of course, at more affordable prices.

Hershey - How Responsible is Responsible?

Posted in: Opinion

$10 million over five years will give you a few offices and a half a dozen employees. Not much will be done.

Right now Dominican cacao farmers are getting about US $80 dollars for a 100lbs of dried, unfermented cacao beans. $95 for fermented. Last summer it was $130 and $145 respectively. In order to really reward the farmer, I would argue they should receive a minimum of $150 and $200 per 100 lbs. and quality would be greatly enhanced. USAID should stop paying the consultants and set minimum floors on pricing for the small farmer. That way the 10 to 100 acre farms can stay in business. Otherwise the production of cacao will continue to be more and more under the control of 4 major producers.

At what point in the process is the grading of the bean happen? The closer to the farm, it seems it would be better for the farmer.

Hershey - How Responsible is Responsible?

Posted in: Opinion

I think there's two salient points:

1) Hsy has a large enough momentum to affect change, and change has to begin small. There's insufficient capacity in the network to make sudden, large movements

2) Hsy doesn't really source much cocoa anymore, Barry Callebaut does it for them.

The Bliss move is simply reactionary to what Mars did with Dove (Bliss is, afterall, a 'me too' product that competes head to head). Dagoba's simply the easy one to do because it's volume is so incredibly small. it's effectively an easy gimme for Hsy. CdI is a tough place to work in now, what with all the unrest of last year and the current reorganization of the cocoa sector by the gov't at the behest of the world bank(ironic, if you know the history). Although the scale of the issue is larger there simply because the scale in general is larger, the achievable momentum is in Ghana, which is why they probably started there. That, and that's probably where BC told them they could do something. I'd give Hsy the benefit of the doubt that they're intent is good; we can argue what is the most effective way to go about it, but i think it's safe to say that they're not simply doing it for the soundbite on the nightly news. People will always argue that someone isn't moving fast enough or grandly enough. Little guys will always look at whatever the big guy does with distrust, regardless of intent or facts. At current production rates of farmers, and current global growth rates, combined with increasing quality issues and decreasing generational farmer intent to continue farming, the industry as a whole should be quite concerned about it's future, and everyone involved should be looking at ways of addressing sector rehabilitation in general. Few people get to see (fewer yet understand) the scope of the problem at hand.

Hershey - How Responsible is Responsible?

Posted in: Opinion

Alec:

If Hershey was sincerely serious about doing something, they'd be working in the Ivory Coast, where the documented problems are far more severe and widespread than they are in Ghana. Also, the monies involved would be in the hundreds of millions over decades.

The Gates Foundation ponied up US$750 million last month to keep a global AIDS organization from collapsing.

If the industry (and consumers) are sincere about doing something, the entire supply chain needs to be re-examined from the farm to the factory and the price the grower actually receives for his cocoa needs to accurately reflect the actual local cost of production AND the work required to make the farms self-sustaining. Thinking about self-sustaining requires a 100-year mindset, not a focus on quarterly results.

Hershey - How Responsible is Responsible?

Posted in: Opinion

Clay great catch on Hersey'sannouncement. I first heard about this on CNN and personally I am initially skeptical. CNN has been focusing on child slavery in the cocoa producing regions of Africa lately in several stories. I wonder if thisannouncementby Hershey's is a sincere call to address a serious problem or just a PR release todissipatenegative insinuation. Only time will tell I suppose. I hope it is sincere.

Hershey - How Responsible is Responsible?

Posted in: Opinion

Thanks for this piece, Clay. Your doubts are highly valid ones-and they closely parallel most of the issues with many aid programs, whether they support the cocoa sector or other sectors, especially the ones funded by the US government. Most USAID funds, for example, end up going to administrative costs, highly paid consultants, per diems, air fares, etc. with usually at least 50%, if not a much higher percentage, never actually being spent in the country on the people where the aid is supposedly destined for. Most of the money ends up being spent back in the US. And just like this program, many aid programs have a 5 year or 3 year time horizon, hardly enough to make any kind of lasting impact. Maintaining sustained funding is often difficult if not impossible because ofpolitical changes, changes in the Administration, changes in the political winds, etc.

Hershey - How Responsible is Responsible?

Posted in: Opinion

The "Fair" trade world is abuzz this week with an announcement by Hershey that it is expanding efforts in the area of cocoa sustainability in West Africa. Hershey is one of the last of the major international players to make such a commitment.

While skeptics are cautiously optimistic about the ultimate impact of the move, at least one, Global Exchange, points out that Hershey's choice to support Rainforest Alliance over a "real" "fair" trade certification does not bring with it "guaranteed" improvements in the quality of life for farmers:

"Fairtrade labelling standards are designed to tackle poverty and empower producers in the worlds poorest countries, giving them a guaranteed price for their products. Rather than emphasizing how products are traded, Rainforest Alliance certificationfocuses on how farms are managed."

Thus, while Hershey has announced that it will make it's Bliss product line with 100% Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa, it's unclear what this will actually mean for growers. Historically, we can suspect that it will be Hershey (and Rainforest Alliance) will benefit more than growers will.

The CocoaLink program, which is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will earmark US$10 million dollars over the next five years for:

"... a first-of-its kind farmer outreach program that uses mobile voice and SMS text messages to connect cocoa farmers with important information about improving farming practices, farm safety, child labor, health, crop disease prevention, post-harvest production and crop marketing."

Additional efforts will be made to establish:

"... the Hershey Learn to Grow farm program in Ghana to provide local farmers with information on best practices in sustainable cocoa farming."

Before we go and congratulate Hershey too much, or thank Bill and Melinda G for their assistance, let's take a short moment to think about the very important topic of where the US$10 million will be spent (and ask how much of the ten million is actually Hershey money, anyway?). Not surprisingly (at least to those of us who follow such things), most of the money will not be spent on aspects of the program that directly benefit growers .

Where will the money be going then? To pay for CocoaLink's infrastructure, in part. Someone has to pay for the SMS gateway, the cost to deliver the messages (which might be paid for at least in part by growers depending on their plan), and the cost of producing the content that will go into those messages. Looking for a real-time feed of commodities exchange prices for cocoa that can be mashed up and sent by SMS to phones? It's not free. And where do the people developing the tools, content, and technology and who will be managing the program live? Mostly not in Ghana.

It's quite possible that 50% or more of the US$10 million will never the leave the US or will go to large telecom, technology service, and operations management oversight providers in West Africa and will not, in fact, benefit growers in the long run.

Furthermore, to have even a hope of succeeding, Hershey would need to make a generational (20 year, minimum) commitment to the program. 5 years is not enough, and what happens 5 years from now when the current commitment expires? Will Hershey re-up? Will it re-assess the impact of the program? If it does re-assess will it have the institutional courage to man-up and do the right thing and fix things and move forward? Or will it decide that the program failed (not their fault!) and drop it?

I would not say that I am cautiously optimistic about the success or future of this program. Call me cautiously pessimistic . I want it to work, but don't believe it has enough of the right elements to achieve meaningful results. For anyone other than Hershey.

updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/15/15 21:22:34

Types of Sweetening and Conching Time

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello Richard, I was following this post as we have also started using the CocaoT melanger and are learning a lot from this post. I am looking for a micrometer and would appreciate any suggestions (such as online stores and brands), on where I can find one.

Types of Sweetening and Conching Time

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

May I know how long and how often should I blow in the warm air? I use a hair dryer, and I use it like 5-6 times for a period of 5-10 seconds during the start of the conch and didn't blow in any hot air again until finish. My finished product still have acid taste in them, may I know how long do you blow in warm air?

Seems like I have to invest in a cocoa butter press then, for in this country there are no cocoa butter available.

Thank you Richard for your advice!

Types of Sweetening and Conching Time

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

When we use our small melanger, it takes a good amount of time to get smooth chocolate and are you blowing in warm air to help evaporate acids and moisture? Also. Invest in a micrometer, digital version, less than 40 bucks. Test your batch periodically. We find on the small melanger it takes often 30 hours or so to get down to 20 microns, which is your target for smooth chocolate.Adding lecithin or added cocoa butter is also often needed, depends how much of a purist you are. Without that however you will find it hard to get a real fluid and homogenized batch.

Types of Sweetening and Conching Time

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks to all three of you, I buy and sell cacao nibs and paste and last week decide to buy the CocoaT melanger as well. Our first batch we used a kilo of benian cacao paste and and ran that for about 6 hours before adding any sugar into it. We used brown sugar and then let it run for another 12 hours. We have now tried 3 batches and with your notes now have a clear understanding of what to do for batch number 4.

Types of Sweetening and Conching Time

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you Felipe and Sebastian for your advice, those tips and tricks solve all of my problems thank you!

Types of Sweetening and Conching Time

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Panod,

You want to avoid water content as it is chocolate's worst enemy. The beans and sugar do have a very slight amount of water which is what you want goes off during conching and is also bound to lecithin. Do not use honey, it has a MUCH higher water content or even think of adding fresh fruit and the like.

My first batch was about 200g of nibs; I thought I'd start small but learnt it was good to do bigger batches (1kg+) considering the time spent to refine and conch. I can't really answer your fridge question for storing finished chocolate as I live in a cool and dry place, but do warm those nibs and everything else you use to 120-160f as it will make it easier on the machine to release the fat butter.

Regards,

Felipe

Types of Sweetening and Conching Time

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Brown sugar will indeed add moisture to your chocolate, which can be a problem. I'd say, generally speaking, just make sure you've got enough white sugar on hand before you start 8) however, now that you've got brown sugar in it, here's what I'd try:

1) if it's not 'chunky' (rather just sandy feeling) let the grinder run for another 24 hours. if you've got the ability to run it in a 'hot' area (lets say 30-35C), do so, with the top off the grinder.

2) additionally, you didn't mention anything about lecithin. If you have some, add 0.5% of fluid lecithin after you run the grinder for another 12 hours. that'll give time for the water to evaporate off, and the lecithin will help bind up any remaining water.

Types of Sweetening and Conching Time

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you Felipe! So if any ingredient I put into the melanger that have a higher water content, it could cause the chocolate to seize up more? So if I put honey in, the chocolate it would turn out to have a higher viscosity than brown sugar? Sadly I have no access to cocoa butter, can I put in more cocoa nibs instead? May I know how big is your first batch? And this question I always wonder, when you leave your chocolate do you leave it outside? Or you put it in a fridge for 2 weeks. I live in a hot humid country, so I put my crack cocoa beans and conched chocolate into the fridge, would it be alright? Thank you Felipe, I've learn loads of stuff today! :D

Types of Sweetening and Conching Time

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Panod,

Congratulations on your first batch! Here are a few ideas that come to mind regarding viscosity and sweeteners:

I believe brown sugar has a higher water content than regular sugar. This may cause the chocolate to seize and can explain the change you saw after adding the additional sugar. If the chocolate is too strong, you can alwaysadd additional cocoa butter instead of adding more sugar. It will help the chocolate flow better. Of the 5 batches I've done so far, the best one was the first, with 55% nibs, 15% cacao butter, 30% and just half a vanilla bean. At the end of conching (about 12-15 hours) it was good, two week later it was just fantastic and creamy.

All the best,

Felipe

Types of Sweetening and Conching Time

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi,

I just got my CocoaT Melanger yesterday, so this is my very time making chocolate properly.

For my first trial I use 380g of cocoa beans, I added in 163g of cane sugar to make it 70% dark chocolate. Three hours later I taste it, it's bitter sweet, and I want it to be a little sweeter, but I ran out of cane sugar but I got brown sugar, added 90 g in to make it 60%, I went to sleep and woke up the next morning (12 hours) letting it process. The liquid is smooth, but not that chocolate smooth I would get in normal chocolate, and it also doesn't have the color of a processed chocolate.

Is it the brown sugar that's causing the problem? Or 12 hours of conching is not enough for this 633g chocolate batch I'm making.

It also have a sour taste to it, can this problem be solved by letting it rest for 2-3 weeks before tempering?

Thank you so much in advance for your advice!

updated by @Panod: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Tempering help

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Ok... I'll help.

If you get your room temperature down to 24 degrees, using the ACMC (I own 6) will take absolutely FOREVER to cool and reheat. My suggestion is as follows:

1. Heat the chocolate in your ACMC to 120 degrees F, and make sure it's thoroughly heated.
2. Ensure that your motor is running and the bowl is spinning.
3. Reset your machine temperature to 90 degrees F, and begin to cool it.
4. When the chocolate gets to105 Degrees, remove 1/3 and cool it using a cold water bath in your sink. DO NOT GET ANY WATER IN THE BOWL.
5. The temperature of the chocolate in your cold water bath should get to about 79 degrees F. It will cool very quickly, so make sure you are stirring the entire time. It should get thick like pudding, and begin to stick to the sides of the bowl.
6. Add the chocolate back into your ACMC and stir really really well, MAKING SURE THE WATER IS WIPED OFF OF THE OUTSIDE OF YOUR BOWL BEFORE YOU POUR IT BACK IN. This will not only bring the chocolate in your ACMC down to the working temperature, but will also seed the uncrystalized chocolate and bring it into temper.
7. Let the machine mix the chocolate for 10-15 minutes to ensure uniform crystalization before beginning to work with it.

That's it. Super easy.

Hope that helps.

Brad

Tempering help

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I'm definitely no expert but i noticed no one else had replied. As far as I've learned and experienced ambient temp of the room in which your tempering should be closer to about 20. Also you can temper without seed by tableing.

Tempering help

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I was wondering if you need to use seed chocolate to acutally temper?

Could you temper the whole batch? like say i bring the whole 5lbs of chocolate down to 80 F and then heat back up to 90 - 92 F?

I'm about to buy an ACMC machine and im in the tropics where the ambient temperature is 33 C. So I will have to temper in an airconditioned room where i bring the ambient temp down to 24C. I use a Santha to grind my beans and add my ingridients, and when i usually get the chocolate out of the santha the temperature is about 115F.

updated by @Malcolm Tiu lim: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Hi,

I found this posting on the internet http://www.bid-on-equipment.com/detail~id~124510.htm . It seems as though someone is selling a used enrober. I personally bought my machine used and you never quite know what you are going to get. It took me a while to realize certain parts were missing. With that said, I figured it out and now I am in good shape. In summary, buy the machine new if you can. If you cannot, this might be a opportunity for a deal.

Right now they are offering free shipping til the end of the month, do you get that with your discount or is either/or?

updated by @Andy Ciordia: 11/08/15 05:00:31

Visiting the Roots of cacao in South America - looking for guidance

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Hello! I am heading down to South America in the spring to get hands on learning in the cacao industry. My interest is primarily exposure in growing and processing of cacao beans as well as it;s cultural influences. Thought to reach out to other cacao & chocolate connosseurs who may have some guidance or recommendations about such a journey.

Thank you!

Maureen

updated by @Kalibri Anne: 04/10/15 18:07:07

Dark milk chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I used 8% butter and 60% paste. Used 10% milk powder and added after 12 hours and kept it in the machine for 20 hours total. Ended up 22% sugar. The batch ended up being a 4 lb, 10.5 ounces and generally am getting about 10 oz. lose with each batch from cleaning. That is probably high but I do not pick through every nook and cranny of the grinder and bowl, but do the best I can without making too much of a mess.

My milk chocolate people want more milk powder in it. It is still pretty dark.

Dark milk chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I am also experimenting with my first dark milk batches. I've added an additional 10% cocoa butter to the batch and it has been going for about 12 hours now in a small cocoa town. The consistency is pretty good already and will probably be finished in the next 8 hours. I have been trying to figure out when the best time to add the whole milk powder would be? Any suggestions?

Dark milk chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hello ! Thank you for sharing your experiences !

Our dark milk 60% is delicious, we added some nuts and our friends like it. the texture is smooth and the taste is good. We did not add additional cocoa butter, the tempering was ok, much more easier than the other chocolates...

But I would like also to try what you sais Antonino, reducing the nibs and adding some cocoa butter.. thank you for the idea !

Dark milk chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hi there, we make a Milk 60% single origin ecuador, we started the testing on a small melanger with the intent of lower the cocoabutter content (to have dry feeling) but it also turned out thick like cement!

we just modify a bit the recipe by increasing the fat content (cocoabutter) and now it works amazingly!

give a try by reducing the nibs and adding cocoabutter (let say 10%) but depending on the beans you could start trying with just 5%.

As well, what fat content has your milk powder?

Ciao!

Antonino

Dark milk chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I am also using the cocoa town melanger and made a dozen or so mirco batches and was not getting the smoothness I wanted. I ordered some cocoa butter and it really helps out with the texture. I started at 10-12 hour conches and raised it 20-24. I think I will go back to the 12 hour and see if more taste is maintained.

Dark milk chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I think you'll find much better texture with that option - it'll put you somewhere in the neighborhood of 34% fat (maybe a touch higher depending on what nibs you're using) which should be liquid enough for the grinder to function properly. Your fineness will now largely be a function of how long you leave it in- the longer it spins, the finer it'll be. Enjoy!

Dark milk chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hello Tom and Sebastian,

thank you very much for your help. I have just tried the second option: I removed the contents of the grinder ( the texture was almost smooth, but not perfectly) and I will liquify some more nibs. Later I will add the first mixture to the second one. So, I will have 60% cocoa nibs, 15% whole milk and 25% sugar. I really hope that this formula will work..

I know that some chocolate makers make dark milk chocolate 60% without adding other ingredients, but I can not remember their names..

Thank you again for your advices, I will tell you the result.

Dark milk chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

W/o having a formula, it's impossible to determine how much fat you have. However, i'm going to guestimate that you've got about 25% cocoa fat in there - which is low. To tom's point, one of your issues may be that it's simply not enough fluidity for the unit to grind efficiently, and you're going to have to find a way to further fluidize it - either via some lecithin or additional fat. It's my guess that you're low enough in fat that lecithin's not going to get you to where you need to be, so you're prob looking at additional fat. Now, i'd not monkey around with veg fats. Unless you know what you're doing, there's a very high likelihood that you're going to very quickly run into something called eutectics, which will give you all sorts of troubles should you want to temper this. Rather, i'd look to add cocoa butter. Now, yo'uve got two options:

1) add pure cocoa butter, bring the total fat up to, oh, say 35%. Or, if you don't have access to cocoa butter

2) remove the contents of your grinder, and add more roasted nibs. Liquify those nibs - they'll have an approximate fat content of, lets say 52%. Once you create you fluid chocolate liquor, slowly add in your original paste batch, using the fluidity from the extra liquor to assist with the grinding. 0.2% fluid lecithin will also help at this point.