Forum Activity for @Brasstown Chocolate

Brasstown Chocolate
@Brasstown Chocolate
11/17/13 16:43:55
14 posts

Chocolate prices.


Posted in: Opinion

In North Carolina I've noticed a shift in chocolate prices from full retail to a more value oriented approach. This is not encouraging newsfor the small artisinal chocolatier. Obviously raw material costs are steeper whenpurchasing volumes are low. This makes it hard to lower prices enough to compete with larger companies. I'm interested in knowing if artisans in other areas are experiencing the same decrease in prices.Hopefully this isunique to this geographic area.


updated by @Brasstown Chocolate: 04/10/15 10:47:53
Hank Friedman
@Hank Friedman
11/16/13 22:54:13
9 posts

Source of Sosa ingredients in the U.S.


Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hi!

I am a home-based chocolatier who wants to buy a few of the Sosa Ingredients extracts to use in my chocolate making.

The only U.S. website I could find distributing Sosa products (John Koerner & Company) has a large minimum order and is based in New Orleans (I'm on the West Coast).

Do any of you know any distributors of Sosa ingredients on the West Coast or who process smaller orders?

Thanks!


updated by @Hank Friedman: 05/14/15 21:41:51
mda@umgdirectresponse.com
@mda@umgdirectresponse.com
11/14/13 18:40:30
59 posts

Choosing enrobing cabin (Coating cabins)


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Their customer service may not be great, but my understanding is their equipment is well-respected, and a lot of companies use it. I'm sure that Clay or others can add more about them.

Vladislav
@Vladislav
11/14/13 18:36:35
9 posts

Choosing enrobing cabin (Coating cabins)


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I've already talked to them. They are very slow in answering.

Vladislav
@Vladislav
11/14/13 18:33:12
9 posts

Choosing enrobing cabin (Coating cabins)


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you! I know this manufacturer. I will contact them.

Capacity the machine that I am satisfied - 20-40 kg per hour.

mda@umgdirectresponse.com
@mda@umgdirectresponse.com
11/14/13 18:27:07
59 posts

Choosing enrobing cabin (Coating cabins)


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

300,000 Euros for a coating cabin? Wow. That must be a large, integrated system of some type. You didn't say anything about what level of output you require, so I have no idea if this will work for you. But I know that Savy Goiseau makes several models of belt coaters that look very much like the image you attached. The large one is rated at up to 50 kg/hour.I don't know what they cost, but I'm sure they're significantly less than 300,000 Euros.

http://www.savy-goiseau.com/en/range/coating-in-turbine

Vladislav
@Vladislav
11/14/13 15:40:28
9 posts

Choosing enrobing cabin (Coating cabins)


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello everybody!

At this time, I am concerned about choice an enrobing cabin (coating cabin -not to be confused with enrobing belt or coating pan!) . So I decided to resort to the help of the collective mind.In particular, I very much hope to the councilrespected Clay.

I want to produce in my factory chocolate dragees with a soft core (ground dried fruits such as apricots, pears, apricots).

I know that these machines makes a German manufacturer ( http://www.wolf-machines.de/index.php?id=29&L=1 ). I would have bought it, but its price, like an airplane. They responded to my request. Minimum equipment worth 300,000 euros. And given the duty to my country, it will cost as much as two airplanes.It's too expensive!

However, I'm sure there are other options. I would be very grateful if you could recommend me a specific manufacturer.

Also I will be grateful if you could advise the manufacturer of equipment for the production of marmalade.


updated by @Vladislav: 04/11/25 09:27:36
KI Chocol' Art & Coffee
@KI Chocol' Art & Coffee
11/14/13 05:29:45
5 posts

Longevity for a chocolate sauce


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi all, I am to design a chocolate sauce with a clients liqueur and a couple of their specialty (hot) ingredients, any tips please to making a good long shelf life and thick choc sauce.

Thanks in advance

Lisa


updated by @KI Chocol' Art & Coffee: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Carlos Eichenberger
@Carlos Eichenberger
11/13/13 22:29:20
158 posts

Crescent Wrench mold - Looking for one


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

While on a training course in Italy, we were taught how to make tool replicas by molding them in cocoa powder -- very similar to starch molding. Basically what you do is make a nice deep bed of cocoa powder, smooth it down, and then press the wrench into the powder. Extract from the powder with a magnet and pour in the chocolate. This can be repeated very easily.

Dirke Botsford
@Dirke Botsford
11/13/13 17:09:52
98 posts

Crescent Wrench mold - Looking for one


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I had a customer request for a chocolate crescent wrench, I've been looking online for one and came across some hobby PVC but the detail wasn't there, I know it sounds picky but I'm after more then just the general shape. They want one that looks like an actual tool. I could make a silicone mold but they want quantity and that won't do the trick.

Anyone know where I might be able to find a Poly mold of a crescent wrench, or an wrench? If it's PVC that would be fine too just has to have some sort of detail. Thanks for any assitance in advance!


updated by @Dirke Botsford: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Anjali Gupta
@Anjali Gupta
11/22/13 08:14:03
14 posts

Tempering & surface texture issue, swirls, circles & matte finish.


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Jennifer,

I had a similar problem. I think it was because my chocolate was too thick. I have since started working with Belcolade which is more liquid (thinner), and have no problem now.

Anjali

Derrick Pho
@Derrick Pho
11/20/13 08:30:18
2 posts

Tempering & surface texture issue, swirls, circles & matte finish.


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Jennifer,

No Problem, happy to share.

Derrick

Jennifer Davis
@Jennifer Davis
11/19/13 15:23:40
17 posts

Tempering & surface texture issue, swirls, circles & matte finish.


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Derrick,

Thank you so much! You have given me a lot to think about and test. Thanks for taking so much time in responding to me.

Jennifer

Derrick Pho
@Derrick Pho
11/18/13 08:24:14
2 posts

Tempering & surface texture issue, swirls, circles & matte finish.


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Jennifer,

Several thing may go wrong here. Please allow me.

When you work with chocolate you need to take in consideration of room temperature, humidity, products you enrobe, the type of decoration you use, dry ingredients or imprint dcor, temperature of your center and equipment. Ventilation, air conditioning depending on how high your ceiling. Working in a basement near the coast line or in high altitude, will all give you different result, very hot humid summer or very cold winter could affect the finished product also. Therefore, all chocolatier has different experience of the shine, humidity,shelvelife andthickness of chocolate during dipping moulding etc...

The Rev line, For my personal experience, The speed of the bowl is turning too fast, therefore I am quite sure that you need to reheat constantly your chocolate, because its get thicker over time and quickly. for small production, I always suggest to use melter like mold'art, Mafter,dry heat or water bath. is depend on your preference and price that offer in your area. Back to the Rev line, You need to work fast enough to prevent the thickness( Vaseline) of the chocolate. This may also be your problem of swirlingby over or under heating?Round dot can be air bubble underneath,

To have a max shine after dipping in chocolate,you center should be around 23oC-24oC. and dark chocolate should be temper at 32-32.5oC up to 33oC. Room temperature should be around 22-23oC. A room to cold, the crystallizing of the cocoa butter is too fast may loose shine. The center is too cold, dip into a warm chocolate will also loose shine. Dipping chocolate if is too thick( over crystallize) will also loose shine and swirl, circle, uneven crystallizing.

As per your post, You put in the fridge for easy dipping, that mean your recipe is not balance and missing some cocoa butter that help it set at a right consistence for dipping. Filling ganache center and dipping ganache center have a completely different formula.

Last some of the sea salt can be more hygroscopic than the other. Smaller, less refine particle will have tendency to absorbed the humidity in the air(ERH equilibriumhumidity relative) in a simple explanation,if your room humidity ishigh,your product will absorb the humidity in your room. If your room is too dry, the product will dry out. Therefor if you are in an area with high humidity the sea salt will absorb the humidity and transfer on to your chocolate.

Cheers,

Jennifer Davis
@Jennifer Davis
11/14/13 10:33:04
17 posts

Tempering & surface texture issue, swirls, circles & matte finish.


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Ashley, any bit of info I could get would really help. I do use Himalayan salt. It is very fine however and I grind it for 2 days along with the other ingredients. Thanks for chiming in :)

Ashley2
@Ashley2
11/13/13 21:28:14
11 posts

Tempering & surface texture issue, swirls, circles & matte finish.


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Not sure if this could be related...What kind of sea salt are you using?I make a carmel that I dip in chocolate then sprinkle salt on top. I've had to experiment with different salts. When I used a coarse Pink Himalayan Sea salt the chocolate seems to almost weep, and it spotted and swirled in the area around the salt. I used a Fine pink Himalayan and it did not weep, but did get spotty. It's not bloom, and doesn't affect the taste, but it doesn't look pretty! Then I used a plain old kosher salt- and they were just fine! (But I wanted to use a FANCY salt! ;))Not sure if there is any validity to this, but my pink sea salts seem to be kind of moist.Anyway, like I said not sure if this could be the culprit, and I hope you figure it out :)
Jennifer Davis
@Jennifer Davis
11/12/13 23:22:02
17 posts

Tempering & surface texture issue, swirls, circles & matte finish.


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi everyone,I have been having more problems the past year with the finish of my chocolate truffles than I had previously. I have a rev 3210 and a rev2 tempering machine with a warming bowl for after it's tempered. Why is my chocolate surface so inconsistent if I'm using professional equipment?To give more info...my truffles are square not round (not sure if that matters just want to give enough info for a diagnosis). The truffle centers, or "innards" as we call them are out of the fridge when I dip them. I thought this might be the issue so we tried them a little warmer. Too warm and they are hard to dip. Still seem to have the problem. The surface just seems to have swirls and little round dots. From everything I've read that points to it not being tempered properly.I will assume the matte finish, as opposed to shiny which I would prefer, is due mostly to the temperature when dipped?The ingredients in my dipping chocolate are cacao paste, cacao butter, vanilla bean, sea salt, coconut sugar and the last 10 minutes sunflower lecithin (liquid) but only about 1/2 to 1 tsp to a total batch of about 8 lbs of chocolate. This grinds for at least 2 days so it's pretty smooth.Any advice would be greatly appreciated.Thanks so muchJenniferP.s. This is raw chocolate we are dealing with if that matters
updated by @Jennifer Davis: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Sebastian
@Sebastian
11/13/13 04:20:15
754 posts

Experimenting and Tempering with Criollo Bean


Posted in: Travels & Adventures

For tempering, you essentially need to heat the mass up to 120, cool it down to about 81, and then reheat it to about 88. it does not really matter how you do this so a bowl of cold water would be fine, assuming it is sufficiently cold to allow you to get your chocolate to about 81f. you do not need a thermometer to temper, however it greatly, greatly, greatly increases your likelihood of success - for at this time, since you're not accustomed to tempering, you don't really know what success looks/feels like - so the thermometer will guide you.

Local taste preferences vary greatly around the world. in many places in east asia they don't ferment at all. in some places in c. america they bury the beans with lye in the ground. hard to say why a local flavor preference develops the way it does.

The sugar won't heat up the drum at all, it's getting warmer due to the frictional heat generated during grinding. what it is likely to contribute, however, is moisture, which is rarely a good thing for dark chocolate. if your chocolate is very viscous, it's a potential contributor to that.

Harald
@Harald
11/12/13 08:28:12
3 posts

Experimenting and Tempering with Criollo Bean


Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Ok would it be sufficient if i put the bowl of chocolate in a pot of cool water and steer?

The digital thermometer should be here by the end of this week.

Also the locals told me that the germinated bean is a sign of quality and they choose their bean by that, i understand from you that is negative for the taste,

What is the difference when the bean germinates and do you have any idea why the locals here with all their cacao rituals and traditions prefer the germinated bean?

Last question... i noticed that the panela heats up the drum more then normal sugar, this morning it was up to 125 fahrenheit, Is that to hot? Do i need to place a cooling fan next to it?

Sebastian
@Sebastian
11/12/13 04:19:12
754 posts

Experimenting and Tempering with Criollo Bean


Posted in: Travels & Adventures

It's called fat bloom, and is the result of not being in temper. If you're just starting to temper, an accurate thermometer is critical, and you're going to need someway of cooling the chocolate once it's been tempered. The germinated bean won't impact your ability to temper, but it's not likely to taste very good as a result.

Harald
@Harald
11/11/13 18:59:28
3 posts

Experimenting and Tempering with Criollo Bean


Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Hey Sebastian

Im using a food thermometer which is not very precise (you can easily be 1-2 degrees off) , im still waiting for the digital one i ordered from the states.

I did manage to temper industrial dark chocolate decently with only this thermometer back when i was in the states, but like i said im no expert and i am happy to hear what i did wrong.

The 30% is what i heard from the locals without any reference,

the beans do have the little sprout inside (sorry for my english i dont know if that is the right word, but when you crack the bean you can see the very little beginning of the plant inside)

I only have my mac at hand right now for pictures but i hope you can see the problem :-)

Thanks a lot

The picture is from the batch i made 4 days ago

Sebastian
@Sebastian
11/11/13 17:43:04
754 posts

Experimenting and Tempering with Criollo Bean


Posted in: Travels & Adventures

It most assuredly has more than 30% fat in it. Unless it is very immature. Tell us more about why you think it didn't work, what did you see, photos are helpful..

Harald
@Harald
11/11/13 16:46:31
3 posts

Experimenting and Tempering with Criollo Bean


Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Im doing a little experiment here in Guatemala and I have some issues tempering something which is called ceremonial cacao.

It is the criollo bean fermented for about 3 days and then slightly roasted for about 15-20 minutes just enough so that its possible to hand peal the beans. This process seems to be the traditional way and is done by about 10 local families here.

From what i heard this bean has only about 30% fat and is very rich in Theobromines.

So what i did is i got a cocotown melanger here and i am experimenting with this stuff.

So far i add just enough butter (about 10%) so that it is possible to liquify the cacao liqueur and i added panella (unrefined cane sugar), because i am very inspired by the dark flavor it develops this way after about 30 hours in the melanger.

All is good but when i try to temper it im not being successful.

Now i am not an expert in tempering by hand but my normal method of heating it up to 120 then let it cool to 80 and back up to 88 while constant steering is not really working...

Do i need to add more butter or is panella a bad idea?

I am happy for any hints or ideas to try out.


updated by @Harald: 04/22/15 03:11:19
Choco Starr
@Choco Starr
11/11/13 10:11:50
3 posts

anyone know how to change bulb in dry case?


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Clay. I found the manufacturer's video online. Its made by True and they have an excellent video on how to change a bulb...not apparently obvious on first inspection, but now I know. Thanks for the response!

Clay Gordon
@Clay Gordon
11/11/13 08:20:49
1,696 posts

anyone know how to change bulb in dry case?


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Somewhere in the case there should be a label that indicates who made the case. Contacting the manufacturer (it's not Bakery Dry).

You can also post a picture of the case showing the area(s) around the fixtures. Someone may recognize the manufacturer. But at this point we don't have enough information about the case to begin suggesting solutions.

Choco Starr
@Choco Starr
11/10/13 16:36:17
3 posts

anyone know how to change bulb in dry case?


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello Chocolatiers. I have a used Bakery Dry case in my shop and I want to change the flourescent tubes for LED tubes...anyone know how to do this? It's not apparent how the existing tubes come out. Anyone?


updated by @Choco Starr: 04/11/25 09:27:36
michael donegan
@michael donegan
11/08/13 13:09:24
3 posts

moving up from spectra 11 to spectra 100


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

due to demand for our chocolate bar, i am now considering buying a spectra 100 , has anyone made this jump in production of chocolate and has anyone got a spectra 100 , (we are one of a handfull of bean to bar producers in ireland at the moment, since i launched my bar the demand has pushed my spectra 11 to its limits , i simply cannot make chocolate quick enough)

any advice would be greatly appreciated

michael

kilbeggan handmade chocolate


updated by @michael donegan: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Cesar Jose
@Cesar Jose
11/12/13 07:29:09
11 posts

Caffeinated Chocolate


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you for your reply Michael, I think the Benecoat mention is heading us in the right direction.

At the moment we are doing high end chocolates, but we reckon a Caffeinated (Functional) product, can open us a broad market since it isnt a similar product at this end. We are still trying and doing samples, hope I can find Benecoat from a local supplier.

Regards

mda@umgdirectresponse.com
@mda@umgdirectresponse.com
11/08/13 13:26:39
59 posts

Caffeinated Chocolate


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Salt is a known bitterness suppressor, and is often used for this purpose. Plus it goes well with chocolate. It's the only natural ingredient I can think of that will do this. There is of course a limit to its effectiveness, so I don't know if it would be enough to mitigate the issues you're dealing with. The only other natural ingredient I can think of is sugar. Sugar does not suppress bitterness per se, but it does fairly effectively mask it. Again, there are limits.

Of course you can always resort to chemical bitterness suppressors. I'm no food scientist, but I know that these are out there. I think I read somewhere that tannic acid can do this. And there are other products (such as Benecoat) that are made for this purpose. Before using these however you'll want to think about how important it is to you to have an all-natural product. Personally I think all-natural approaches are always preferable for high-end chocolate. But if you're getting the extra caffeine into the bar using chemicals then the ship has sailed on that anyway. And if your prospective customers are buying these bars mainly to get a jolt of caffeine then a case could be made that this approach would not be as much of a negative with that segment of the market.

Cesar Jose
@Cesar Jose
11/07/13 14:14:16
11 posts

Caffeinated Chocolate


Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

We are looking to develop some artisan chocolate bars with more caffeine than usual, but we have problems with bitter taste.

At the moment there are some chocolate bars on the market with 100mg Caffeine in 43gr Chocolate, all of them manage to avoid caffeines bitterness and also the chocolate taste good. (Tipically Chocolate has 9mg of caffeine in 43 grs)

Does anyone know any product that can reduce or hide this bitterness.
We appreciate any ideas.


updated by @Cesar Jose: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Isaac Callan
@Isaac Callan
11/06/13 12:49:31
2 posts

Handmade Scottish Chocolate


Posted in: Self Promotion / Spam

You can win handmade artisan Scottish chocolate from The Chocolate Tree (Edinburgh) by entering here http://www.youngperspective.net/win-handmade-chocolate-with-young-perspective.html [open to UK residents only]


updated by @Isaac Callan: 04/10/15 11:56:35
Greg Gould
@Greg Gould
11/11/13 06:11:50
68 posts

Jean-Pierre Wybauw Discussion (Recipes)


Posted in: Chocolate Education

The best recipes I found are the Marco (Cognac & marzipan) which I think is in book 1, the coconut caramel and banana from book 2 and the blueberry from book 3. They are all beyond fantastic. FYI: I omit the sorbitol.

John E
@John E
11/09/13 00:19:54
20 posts

Jean-Pierre Wybauw Discussion (Recipes)


Posted in: Chocolate Education

Other than a few food scientists, we have yet to contact any of these top chocolatiers. We do have to find out if they will be a good fit for us still (they may or may not). I will keep your referral in mind --- as always, thanks for helping out.

Clay Gordon
@Clay Gordon
11/08/13 09:23:40
1,696 posts

Jean-Pierre Wybauw Discussion (Recipes)


Posted in: Chocolate Education

John:

Have you contacted Mr Wybauw? Is he available to consult? Can you afford his rates? Is he interested in helping you?

There are many consulting chef/chocolatiers who can help you in this regard. Professor Greweling is one - Drew Shotts is another. They, and the person I am thinking of, are in the US and are more likely to be available than JP is.

John E
@John E
11/08/13 09:13:24
20 posts

Jean-Pierre Wybauw Discussion (Recipes)


Posted in: Chocolate Education

Mr. Gordon,

Thanks for the assistance. I'm sure that any recommendation you give will be great. My only concern is that would your consulatant be better at this project than JPW?

Clay Gordon
@Clay Gordon
11/08/13 09:06:40
1,696 posts

Jean-Pierre Wybauw Discussion (Recipes)


Posted in: Chocolate Education

JPW's second book has lots of good advice about how to increase shelf life using a variety of techniques. You can use the techniques and the recipes in the book(s) as starting points.

If you are looking for a consulting chef/chocolatier, I would be happy to make an introduction to someone based in the NYC area. He isclassically trained in Spain with much practical experience (and with a great flavor sensibility and work ethic) and can help you in your recipe development.

If you are interested, please send me a PM and I will respond with the contact information after checking in with him.

:: Clay

John E
@John E
11/08/13 09:05:48
20 posts

Jean-Pierre Wybauw Discussion (Recipes)


Posted in: Chocolate Education

Thanks for the input.

We have been to many food scientists all to no success. The way we see it now is that we should go to the best and just get this over with already. When we began on this journey we did not know of any of these authors and because of this we kept going to mediocre food scientists who claimed to know it all but didn't.

Sweet matter physicist
@Sweet matter physicist
11/08/13 05:24:27
8 posts

Jean-Pierre Wybauw Discussion (Recipes)


Posted in: Chocolate Education

So far I haven't actually tested too many of the recipes and the ones I tested had not such mistakes. The mistakes were more like rather stupid text errors such as saying that something contained "x% egg whites" where it should have been "protein" (in Dutch you use the same word for egg white and protein), and some funny google-translate-like phrases. I guess it's not crucial, just annoying.

chocochoco
@chocochoco
11/08/13 04:29:33
56 posts

Jean-Pierre Wybauw Discussion (Recipes)


Posted in: Chocolate Education

Hi,

Do those mistakes affect recipes (amounts, missing ingredients)?

Thanks.

Sweet matter physicist
@Sweet matter physicist
11/08/13 02:22:53
8 posts

Jean-Pierre Wybauw Discussion (Recipes)


Posted in: Chocolate Education

I am familiar with the Grewling and the Wybauw books (not the Shotts book, though). I would also clearly prefer the recipes presented by Grewling (more original, more finesse...), but the 2nd volume of Wybauw's books on extending shelf life presents more principles and knowledge if it comes to changing recipes to make them last longer. If you are mostly looking into ways to extend the shelf life of your product, then this technical knowledge might be more useful.

But on the other hand: Ways to increase shelf life in confectionery follow very general principles.In most cases it comes down to reduce the free water content or adding preservatives (such as alcohol). I would guess that many different experienced chocolatiers and consultants will probably be quite familiar with those techniques, and not only the 'famous' guys from the books :)

Good luck!

(by the way, the Wybauw books were translated very badly. I really find all those mistakes quite annoying, but anyway...)

John E
@John E
11/07/13 11:33:04
20 posts

Jean-Pierre Wybauw Discussion (Recipes)


Posted in: Chocolate Education

Mr. Gordon, thank you for the reply.

The reason I am asking these questions is because we are looking for a consultant to reformulate our recipes. Our recipes taste great, but do not have a very long shelf life and we need it to be at least 2-3 months. Since I have not tried the recipes in the book, I am looking for advice to screen out who we should contact for consulting.

My assumption is that if JPW is world-renowned and published books on extending shelf life, that he would be a great consultant. My questions then are this:

  • Would Grewling or Shotts be good consultants? Is JPW better as a consultant?
  • I am located in the US, so would working with somebody in the US be better because it is closer? Or is this irrelevant?
  • How would you approach this problem we are having? Are we going about it the correct way?
Clay Gordon
@Clay Gordon
11/07/13 09:33:51
1,696 posts

Jean-Pierre Wybauw Discussion (Recipes)


Posted in: Chocolate Education

John:

I think you are asking the wrong questions.

Are the recipes any good? Technically yes. They are, however, traditional and tend to be on the sweet side according to many. The real answer to that question is ... do you like them?

JPW is not considered one of the best chocolatiers in the world. However, he is a very good technician and an extremely good teacher. His recipes and books are a foundation, a guide; not a bible to be followed literally. You want perspective, so also get Greweling and Shotts. Compare different approaches. You will learn a lot of technique.

In the end, do you really want to be known as a Wybauw clone? Just duplicating his recipes? Go out and make them - over and over again - learn what works for you and then apply your own taste sensibilities to the technical lessons you have learned and the market you serve.

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