Forum Activity for @Benjamin Harding

Hey Sebastian,

Just to update you, I tried the grinder again. This time I broke it. I heated the mill and put the plates as tight as i could get them. it worked a little bit better, but nowhere near the paste consistency that i got witht the PITEBA. I would tighten the plates periodically when they felt too loose, but then, under too much pressure (too tight) one of the spirals on the augar chipped and the augar plate feels much looser now. sometimes when i crank the handle the plate doesnt move. trying to mill cocoa was obviously too much for the machine.

the pictures on this blog http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/cacao/5291
show that it can obviously be done with a corona mill. this mill looks a bit more heavy duty than mine. i guess that's the difference. do you have any specific make/model/supplier of millthat you know will work?

hi Sebastian,

i took them straight from the burner, winnowed them and ran them through the grinder, so they were still pretty warm. you think i should winnow them and then throw them back on the burner for a minute before I grind them?

what bothers me about this is that i then took the cocoa grounds produced by the corona grinder (which had cooled down by then)and ran them through a PITEBA oil press (with no heat added)and got a nice cocoa paste.

the pressure inside the PITEBA expeller was noticably greater than inside the Corona grinder. I will try again heating them, and try to put the burrs even closer together (if thats possible) to see if that works.

i'm worried that the corona mill i bought is somehow different from the one that is typically used for koko, but I dont see how as the specs are nearly identical. do the pictures of my grinder look different from any you are familiar with?

i'm open to anymore advice.

thanks,

Benj

Hi,

I am having trouble producing cocoa liquor/paste from roasted, winnowed beans with my corona grinder. It is only grindingit into coffee-like grounds, not liquor.

I have seen pictures online of others cranking out liquor with a manual corona grinder, so I know it is possible, but I do not know why I am only getting fine grounds.

My millis not a corona brand, but a victoriacast iron grinder.it's the same specs as a corona, steel burrs, etc. i had the burrs just about as close as they could be to create enough pressure. they were practically rubbing together.

Could someone please help me to grind out a paste??? Pics of my grinder are below.

Thanks

I'm starting a small process using cocoa beans to introduce cocoa powder to the local market, I had a feedback from Clay Gordon that butter can be produced from lower grades of beans without even roasting just extruding then deodorizing, higher grades of beans are roasted to yield flavored cocoa powder, I do not have good demand for the butter and I need only the raw cocoa powder, is it possible to have only powder from beans without extracting fats (butter).

Many thanks for your help

I will be visiting Sri Lanka soon and would like to pay the cocoa fields a visit. Has anyone been there before? I tried looking it up online but could not find any leads or a specific location.

Any leads?

I have a couple questions for you experts out there. I am looking for a good Dutch process cocoa for the dark color. I am going to be doing allot of baking and I really want a rich dark color with a rich flavor, i was thinking of dutch process to get the color right. I dont want the flavor to be to exotic, more of an everyday chocolate lovers then a experts choice.

What is the best cocoa powder? I have heard Valrhona is good but allot of reviews actually say its kinda burnt tasting.

Would I be better off buying a specific brand of cocoa powder or buying from a wholesaler who just tells me where its from, fat content, ect?

What is the difference between a cocoa powder with a 10-12% fat and 20-22% fat?

Do you have any recommendations as to were to purchase cocoa in bulk at a good price.

Thank you!

Elaine

Thanks to Clay for posting this on his DiscoverChocolate Daily News!

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We've already sent out hundreds of bars over the last few weeks to beta testers from our online shop and the reviews have been unanimously glowing for the packaging, flavors, and quality of the stone ground chocolate! If you want to spread the word and include your friends in the pleasures of eating gourmet Hawaiian-made chocolate, please let them know about our shop . Please come back often as we're always developing new flavors.

Let us know ifyou have questions about the shop or are setting up something similar and we'd be happy to offer our advice on how we did it, and the pros and cons of some of the different online shops we've looked at.

It's almost a year since you posted this question so I assume that by know you are an expert at this. Typically - assuming the chocolate slab is new, the machine is pre-heated for a few minutes and the slab is cut in small pieces (tiny bits like buttons) - a 1kg batch should not take more than 10-15 minutes. This is very open-ended as many variables need to be defined (not to mention how patient one is) but that time frame is a reasonable figure to start with.

Lana, thanks for your comprehensive response,

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

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

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

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

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

Cheers.

Brad

Yes, the comments apply to bars as well.

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

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

Hi Clay,

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

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

Thanks,

Ivan.

Geetha:

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you, Gloria

Hi sebastian,

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

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

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

Hi Sebastian,

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

Thanks. Let me know.

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

Can you give a ballpark annual volume estimate?

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

Any input anyone may have will be really helpful.

Thanks much,

G

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

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

Klassy:

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

:: Clay

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

Thanks!

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

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

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

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

Ryan