Forum Activity for @Georgina Joey Ledlie

my new chocolates

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hello, I have added these chocolates to my list. Hope the photo is OK to post. Hugs, joey

updated by @Georgina Joey Ledlie: 04/11/15 04:39:21

Tempering

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

If I'm organised, I turn the tanks on the night before at 45C, let the chocolate melt and the next morning I take it out the tanks, hand temper on tabletop, turn the temp to 31C and put the tempered chocolate back in the tank. From there you can keep it in the tank all day, stirring it and occasionally adding heat to stop it "over tempering".

If I'm not organised, I just melt my chocolate in the microwave to 45C, table temper it and then add into the melting tank at 31C.

I usually have two tanks going at a time - one for dark and one for milk.

You can also melt your chocolate to 45C (either overnight or in microwave), then turn the tank temp to 31C and add seed chocolate to temper. I find this takes a LOT longer though. Much quicker just to table the chocolate.

Tempering

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Gap,

thanks again for the reply. These look like a great option, but how do you work it? as in do you melt all your chocolate in one tank between 45-50c then temper on marble and put into other tank set at 31C to hold temper during the day? or do you melt in both tanks to 45C,take out approx 2/3 of melted chocolate, cool on marble, then add back into same tank but turning down the temp to 31C to hold the now tempered chocolate? or do you melt, remove it all, temper then put back into tank at lower temp?

cheers

Tempering

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi James - that sounds like the one. I use an earlier model of this:

http://www.moldart.be/en/shop/chocolate-machinery/dry-heat-chocolat...

I use two tanks and often set them up in the morning with 5kg in each and mould during the day (moulded chocolates rather than bars). I've used them for my bean-to-bar as well just to hold chocolate tempered until I mould as well.

Tempering

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Gap,

thanks for your very helpful reply. Are the holding tanks called 'chocolate melters' by mol d'art? as looked on their website but couldn't find anything referred to as a holding tank. something called a chocolate kettle but that was insanely expensive. How much chocolate do you work with throughout the day in your tank?

thanks again

Tempering

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Yes there are heated holding tanks. Mol d'Art are the most common (and what I use) but there are others. You temper all your chocolate by hand (they have a smaller units, a 6kg and a 12kg unit) and then put it in the tank which is set to working temp (sat 31C). You can then leave it and it will hold temper. The biggest issue is that you need to "keep" it in temper with a little work during the day. This mainly involves stirring every now and then and, as the chocolate can over-crystallise, hitting it with a heat gun when it starts to thicken too much (but not letting the temperature get so high that it goes out of temper). Its pretty easy when you get the hang of it and I often work with chocolate all day kept in a couple of these tanks and managing the temper of the chocolate just becomes second nature while you're doing other things.

Tempering

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi everyone,

I am currently tempering all my bean to bar chocolate by hand on a marble slab and I love doing it this way, however asdemandgrows, so does the pressure of tempering in small batches.

I am wondering if there is aheated holding tank out there, that I cantemper a large batch of chocolate by hand and then transfer into the holding tank. BUT willthe holding tank keep the chocolate in temper throughout the day or at least for a few hours while I remove the amount of chocolate I wantfrom it (already tempered)for different applications without having to constantly re-temper it. OR am I over complicating things and should invest in a tempering machine? if that's the case then which one? As I am in the UKit seemsany chocolate related machine is difficult to come by so am in much need of advice.

thanks

updated by @James Hull: 04/11/25 09:27:36

SALUDOS FROM COCOA PROVISIONS

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Hola Chocolate Lifers!

My name is Jenny Samaniego, founder and owner of Cocoa Provisions. I grew up in Ecuador and I moved few years ago to NY. My love from the chocolate industry took shape in the Unites States while working for chocolate companies, Pacari Chocolates and Vintage Plantations Chocolates, and traveling back to Ecuador to meet the farmers.

The special connection I had with the industry, grew to become my life goal, after witnessing the need and struggle of the small farmers to find a market for their produce. My company is the bridge that connect the world of the small Ecuadorian farmer and your world, bringing in a taste of the passion and hard work that is needed to bring such quality products.

Cocoa Provisions source directly from the small group of farmers in Ecuador, thus contributing to the conservation of "Arriba National" cocoa, Fair Trade & Sustainable Agriculture Practices. This makes us a purveyor of fine organic fair trade "Arriba Nacional" cocoa beans. We dedicate our work to "Bean to Bar" Chocolate Makers, Chocolate Manufactures, Chocolatiers, etc.

Visit Cocoa Provisions at www.cocoaprov.com or contact us directly us jenny@cocoaprov.com .

updated by @Jenny Samaniego: 04/11/15 22:06:51

Samoa: the Chocolate Treasure Island of the Pacific

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Have finally had time to start a open-to-the-public Pinterest board about Samoan cocoa. Did you know that Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island while he was in Samoa. Thats why we call Samoa the Chocolate Treasure Island of the Pacific . Cocoa has been cultivated throughout Samoa for more than 120 years. Cocoa plantations are concentrated in the two 'rain shadows' along the northwest coasts of both islands. A great share of Samoan cocoa is Criollo and Trinitario varieties.

Koko Samoa is Samoas national beverage and forms an important part of the diet. By developing country standards, Samoa already has a large domestic market. Spurred by tradition and knowledge, on average, 60% of households serve 5 cups per week per person (about 200g of koko malu) (Agriculture Census, 2009). Another report shows that about approximately 12,300 households in Samoa consume three cups of cocoa per week, on average. Hence, around 43,000 cups of cocoa are consumed in Samoa per week . This is equivalent to approximately 900kg of dry cocoa beans per week (Ministry of Agriculture 2004). A largely female cohort roasts unfermented beans, pounds them into a paste, and sells them in 200g cups in open-air markets for SAT5-6 / AUD2.20 (that is, SAT5,000/t -- about four times the current world price for cocoa beans ).

According to 2009 trade figures, Samoa imports more chocolate and cocoa products than it exports. Total cocoa and cocoa preparations (HS6) exports totalled USD23,000 while imports came to USD328,000, thus showing a net trade deficit. When drilling down to chocolate alone, Samoa exported only USD1,000 while it imported USD227,000! (Trade Competitiveness Map of the International Trade Centre, www.intracen.org ).

updated by @Howard & Hanna Frederick: 04/18/15 06:42:49

Chocolate packagings manufacturers in Florida

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hi there choco fans

I need help finding packaging manufacturers in Florida, a printing house for the chocolate wrappingand a good display printing company or all in one, that would be the best solution actually.

Google doesn't seem to be enough, therefore I'm asking you.
I want to find as many companies possible, in Florida or near Florida so I could compare the prices and the quality of their work.

Thanks in advance

updated by @Dorottya Udvardy: 04/09/15 16:03:49

Couverture suitable for India climate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hi Karel,Thanx for replying my only concern is how do u ensure that when you are sending these chocolates from one city to another through courier they don't loose their shape,you are from Australia where again during summers temperatures are high what do you do do that they get transported safely ....Arti.

Couverture suitable for India climate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hi, I think that there is no such thing as chocolate that is weather (heat) resistant. Couverture chocolate is a quality chocolate which is high in cacao butter. Cacao butter melts just under body temperature. That is one of it's characteristics. This characteristic ensures a superior mouth feel to the chocolate...

So this is why couverture is superior to compound chocolate (often with palm oil, with a slightly higher melting point)

If well tempered the high cacao butter contents, gives the chocolate a nice sheen and snap.

If you know this than a weather proof couverture chocolate sounds like a contradiction.

Cheers

Karel

Couverture suitable for India climate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hi,

Please help me in understanding wheather couverture chocolate is suitable for Indian climate ?When it will be sent across at various places through courier will it be able to withstand the Indian heat ?What should be done to avoid any sort of mishap with Couverture chocolates so nthat they can be sent at various places without any loss of their original form ???

updated by @Arti Jain: 04/10/15 14:59:53

Any recipe for hot thick chocolate preparation to be used in a chocolate machine at a market stall?

Posted in: Recipes

Hi,

I use a latte machine at my place to heat the milk. I make a cocoa paste of, sugar, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and water. I heat the sugar and water together till boiling then pour over the cocoa powder and chocolate. Then put in fridge till needed. I spoon the paste into the cup, heat the milk up and pour over the chocolate paste. It's rich and customers love it. Plus they like the idea of fresh made hot chocolate. Hope this helps.

Any recipe for hot thick chocolate preparation to be used in a chocolate machine at a market stall?

Posted in: Recipes

Hi all,

I 've seen a similar post in this forum but it didn't quite answer my question so I would appreciate any advice from you. We are planning to have a stand at a market selling thick hot chocolate using our new machine (Camurri). The issue is that we will need to be heating new content to pour into the Camurri for refill cause its capacity is 5L, so we are looking for suggestions of a simple mixture that we could prepare on site and "cook" it before pouring it in the Camurri, or otherwise we would require to wait approx 20-30 mins for it to be prepared in the machine.

We are thinking of trying out the following method though we didn't get to test it yet:

Using a milk frother, add cold milk, sugar, cornstarch and cocoa, stir & warm them up. Then add solid chocolate and allow about a min to melt. Rewarm using the frother that would also mix the chocolate and pour it in the machine ready to be tasted.

Would anyone suggest any other method or recipe that could be more efficient in this case?

Any feedback on Camurri machines? (Ours is pretty new so we 're still testing it)

A million thanks for everything!

updated by @Porfyra: 04/21/15 02:44:45

Difficulty tempering my own chocolate in Chocovision Revolation x3210

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Your problem is that you aren't using seed chocolate. The Chocovision X3210 doesn't have the cooling ability you need when tempering without seed chocolate.

My solution which worked for me is tempering about a pound of chocolate by hand, and using that as seed chocolate. I bet that will solve you problem.

Difficulty tempering my own chocolate in Chocovision Revolation x3210

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I have done the exact same thing, and i also checked with my thermometer and the temperature was different. I am wondering if like Mark Gerrits mentioned, I have cleaned it with water that was too hot. I have also had it stop on me in the middle of tempering and go back to the beginning with the C sign for celcius.. not sure why that happened. I have yet to try tempered seed chocolate though, that will be my next experiment. I'll let you know how that goes.

Difficulty tempering my own chocolate in Chocovision Revolation x3210

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

i don't have any experience with a rev 2. i have a Delta. Sounds as though it might be an issue with temperature probe on your baffle. do you have another baffle to try? apparently washing the baffle with too warm of water can damage the temp probe, FYI.

Difficulty tempering my own chocolate in Chocovision Revolation x3210

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I'm having the same problem with my chocovision rev 2. I can temper fine by hand, but with this machine I've only done it right once or twice. I bring it up to around 115, down to around 81, then back up to 90. Can't get it to work. Also noticed that when I test the temperature of the chocolate with my thermometer, it differs from what the screen on the machine says...

Difficulty tempering my own chocolate in Chocovision Revolation x3210

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

thanks! ill give that a try, although it seems to get quite thick once i go to a low temp like 29 even. what confuses me is that I don't used tempered seed chocolate when i temper by hand and its fine, but for some reason the machine is different. Not sure if its something i am doing or possibly the machine itself.

Difficulty tempering my own chocolate in Chocovision Revolation x3210

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Try going even lower, 27.5 or 27, possibly your chocolate is under-crystallized.

Another option is using some properly tempered seed chocolate.

Difficulty tempering my own chocolate in Chocovision Revolation x3210

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hey,

I am a new member to this site hoping someone may be able to help me with tempering my chocolate, I roast myself.

I am able to temper it perfectly by hand, but for some reason I can't seem to get it right with the chocovision machine. The chocolate is 70% Ghana, I select the dark chocolate mode and have played around with bringing up the melting point to see if it helps. So far I've brought it to 50C and then used the second temper mode and brought it down to 31. I have also tried bringing it down to 30, and 29. I have brought it down to 28 before but with a melting point of 45.

The results I have been getting are shiny but not a hard enough snap and soft when bitten into.

It appears tempered, but the snap is too soft. I am thinking of trying a higher melting point to see if that is the problem?

Any comments or advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Katie

updated by @Katie Wilson: 04/11/25 09:27:36

praline finish

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

attached are 2 photos

Im getting some real nice sheen on the praline, but theres also swirl

what causes the swirl?

any help appreciated

cheers

alan

updated by @Alan Caldwell: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Fbm Prima

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

H Clay,I'm dealing with vantage House in the UK at the moment as they have a used machine.Thanks for the advise above, very informative, as usual!Calum

Fbm Prima

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Calum -

Vantage House sells and services FBM in the UK. Have you been in contact with them?

First off, throughput is on FBM machines is closer to 3x bowl capacity per hour than 5x. To get close to this throughput you do need to keep topping up the bowl as you go. You don't want to let the bowl get below 1/3 empty in normal operation as the machine is at its most efficient and stable when it's full (this applies to all continuous tempering machines of this type).

There is no way that you are going to use even close to 35kg an hour with an enrober. Think about it. 1000 pieces per hour at 10gr per piece is 10kg of chocolate. That's well within the Prima's range and far more than you can crank through the machine.

The hourly limit is reachable when filling molds. If you are hand-depositing 2 molds/minute and each mold has four, 60gr cavities then this is about .5kg/minute or 30kg/hr. In practice it's a challenge to work uninterrupted for this amount of time, so you'd pace the work accordingly.

There's another factor. 100kg/week is about 2.5 kg/hr on average. 250kg in a busy week is 6kg/hr. If this is in fact your production throughput then the Prima is more than suitable for your operation.

In practical terms, the machine is less difficult to clean than the enrober belt. Yes, there is chocolate waste but good working habits can keep it to a minimum - a couple of hundred grams per changeover, maybe. The best approach is to only changeover at the end of the day. The machines can be cleaned (washed if necessary) and left to dry overnight. If you don't wash then getting any enrober belt perfectly clean is nigh on impossible. The best you can do is to work with a heat gun and remove the majority of the current chocolate before swapping in the new. What you can do is capture the initial chocolate that is mixed and use it in a ganache or something like that - rework, not waste.

Fbm Prima

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated, looking to make a decision on this tomorrow so would love to hear so,e thoughts.Thanks.

Fbm Prima

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Some figures:Av. 100kg/ weekBusy: 250kg/week

Fbm Prima

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi folks,I have been offered an ex display Prima and enrober attachment at a reasonable price.The machine has less than 5 hours working time so it's essentially new. This would be our first continuous temperer and enrober, we currently have the old wheel style machines.I know the Prima has a 7kg working bowl with a theoretical 35 kg/ h output. While 35kg/h is fine I wondered how easily is this achieved? Is this just a case of adding melted chocolate to the working bowl whenever you want? Sorry, I've never used a continuous temperer before so don't really know how they work! My main concern is that I'm buying too small a working bowl and it would just be time consuming to constantly fill up.Also, how easy are these machines to clean and swap from dark to milk, is there any chocolate waste?Thanks in advance for any advise.Calum
updated by @Calum: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Direct Couverture Sourcing

Posted in: Opinion

Hi ,I am looking to source couverture directly from manufacturers as I am intending to start my chocolate business in India.It would be very helpful if someone can help me getting in touch with them.Normally big companies don't entertain small/new buyers.I am ready to import but I need all varieties of Couvertures.If there is any minimum order requirement do let me know.This is to ensure continuity of the same Couverture at wholesale rates.Regards.Arti.
updated by @Arti Jain: 04/12/15 02:49:18

looking for praline(s) help

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

this is the cut view....

looking for praline(s) help

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques


updated by @Alan Caldwell: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Microwave Temper Problem

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am using a 33% milk chocolate. It's in little chips to make melting easier.An odd thing I will do the exact same temper nether and hand dip the pieces and when they cool there is no bloom.

Microwave Temper Problem

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Your working temperature depends on which type/brand of chocolate you are using. I only work with dark chocolate, so my working temp is 88-90. I'm sure there are other opinions on this, but I actually seed my chocolate at a warmer temp than you do. If all of your seed is melting out at the temp you add it, then I don't see any issue. All of the crystals you want (V) from your seed won't melt out if you cool to 70 and then rewarm because the different crystals melt out at different temperatures. As you rewarm you are eliminating the crystals you don't want and leaving behind the ones you do want.As for only doing a cup... Your chocolate isn't ruined or unusable if it has fat bloom or sugar bloom. Just simply remelt and try to temper again. Really the only time your chocolate is ruined is when is gets burnt from overheating. If you temper a larger batch just use a cookie sheet with sides, line it with parchment and pour your extra chocolate on it and allow it to set up. Even if the temper isn't correct you can still use the chocolate.Hope this helps. I think you will find it easier if you try to temper a larger batch. You don't get just one shot at tempering chocolate. Keep melting and retempering assuming it isn't scorched.

Microwave Temper Problem

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Also when you cool it tgat low when do you add your seed chocolate? It won't melt into the other chocolate.

Microwave Temper Problem

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

AndreaCool to 80 then slowly bring it back up to say 86?I am trying to temper a cup at a time. I am just worried about wasting chocolate if I temper too much. I don't know what to do with the left over.

Microwave Temper Problem

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Since you are aware of air temperature and humidity issues, I will skip that. I think you need to alter your tempering method. Do the steps as you described them, but cool well below 90. I'd cool down to 80 and then slowly rewarm using the microwave on shorts bursts of time at reduced power. Stir a lot as you rewarm and I think that will help you. Tempering by hand is a different method than the one used by machines. Machines are able to control the process and elimintate unwanted crystals (leading to bloom) skipping the added step I described. I use this method all the time and it works very well.I'm also concerned about the amount of chocolate you are tempering. Did you mean to say you were tempering a cup of chocolate? It is very difficult to temper correctly the smaller amount you go.

Microwave Temper Problem

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Ok so what about putting it in the fridge for a bit? Also going by my method posted above what am I doing that could be corrected? The Candy the chocolate was on is about 1/2 inch thick

Microwave Temper Problem

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Well if it's sugar bloom it's due to humidity. That looks like fat bloom and it could be because of your room temperature during the night perhaps or incorrect tempering. Try doing the temper test at room temp instead in the fridge to see how it comes out.

Your chocolate might need a cooler environment to take out the latent heat produced by cristallization itself. It might also be affected by the thickness of your piece.

Microwave Temper Problem

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Normal room temp I guess I live in San diego so humidity is not a problem. I put a little on wax paper then in the fridge and it looked ok when it came out. Now when I put the chocolate on my candy I let it sit out over night uncovered. I was reading that it could be a sugar bloom. If that's the case what do I need to do to stop that? Cover it?

Microwave Temper Problem

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hmm what's your room temperature? Did you make a temper test before pouring it?

Microwave Temper Problem

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I couldnt find a piece to my temper machine so I had to use the microwave. I put a cup of chocolate pieces in a microwave safe bowl then heated it to 118 degree in short 15-20 second bursts. I then let the chocolate cool to 95 degrees while stirring every little while. When it hit 95 I started to add my seed chocolate. Then I got the temp to 90 degrees. At this point I poured the chocolate on my candy and let it sit on the counter. When I came back a little while later it looked like this. What am I doing wrong?

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

Dedy-Brand Mini Moulding Machine

Posted in: Opinion

Nathan, my name is Tom Polk with TCF Sales and we represent Dedy in the US. Certainly I can provide the information you are looking and assure you that the quality and support is there with Dedy. Better yet I can provide you references who tell their experience with the machine. Please call us at TCF Sales, 512 201 4443.