The High Cost of Certification
Posted in: Opinion
Antonino:
I am not sure what you mean by your response. The first part I get (and I don't really know the answer to it) ... the other two parts I don't know what you're saying.
:: Clay
Forum Activity for @Clay
Posted in: Opinion
The High Cost of Certification
Posted in: Opinion
why such high costs? lobbying did arrive to the farming? we have a plan....
The High Cost of Certification
Posted in: Opinion
I was sent an interesting thesis analyzing Fairtrade (i.e., FLO) in coffee in Laos.
The chapter titled Economic Sustainability contains the following information:
In addition to the overload of work the farmers must invest to gain 34 cents per pound extra, they also have to pay the Fairtrade Certification fee of US$3,460 per co-op (Euro2,378) per year and the administration fee and other fees of around US$5,000 per co-op which is not paid for by buyers (Wilson, 2006; Fridell, 2007B). Moreover, to gain the 15 cents per pound extra for organic coffee, they have to pay the Organic Certification fee of US$3,000 plus other administration fees of US$6,000. There are only 500 farmers in the co-op (JCFC, 2008), hence, it costs each farmer about US$35 to keep the certifications up to date.
This indicates that regardless of the higher gross incomes that result from higher Fairtrade prices, there is no guarantee of a positive net household income for these farmers who are charged the high costs of foreign inspectors and certification.
If these figures are correct, it costs this co-op (JCFC) over US$17,000/year to maintain both Fairtrade and organic certification. At a combined premium of US$0.20/lb it means the co-op must sell about 42 tons of coffee just to recoup the cost of certification out of the premiums paid.
The thesis also reports that the per-capita annual income in the region is US$580. This means that co-op members spend the equivalent of about 7% of their annual income to pay for certification. Many farmers report that they won't join, or have dropped out of, the co-op because the amount of work involved to meet Fairtrade standards for quality is not worth the extra effort involved.
Can anyone tell me how this is "Fair" trade?
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/13/15 21:39:53
ACMC Tabletop Chocolate Tempering Machine Digital Temperature Readout 6 lb capacity
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks cheebs, you are probably right, and living in South Africa it should probably be even longer before it becomes a problem
ACMC Tabletop Chocolate Tempering Machine Digital Temperature Readout 6 lb capacity
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I think the bulb thing is a non-issue. There are industrial applications that will require incandescent bulbs for years to come. Also, other countries will be very slow to follow suit. We have a 10-15 year window at least before they start becoming scarce.
ACMC Tabletop Chocolate Tempering Machine Digital Temperature Readout 6 lb capacity
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thaks cheebs, maybe I'll wait a little as I said to Richard. I am scared about the bulb issue.
ACMC Tabletop Chocolate Tempering Machine Digital Temperature Readout 6 lb capacity
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks Richard, I think I will start out with a warming kettle. I see you can get quite large ones for much less. Maybe I will stick to the old bain marie method for not.
ACMC Tabletop Chocolate Tempering Machine Digital Temperature Readout 6 lb capacity
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Great starter machine, we outgrew it in about a year and now we use it for keeping tempered white chocolate. Certainly served its purpose to get us off the ground. Now we use 80-lb Hilliard's machines for dark & milk.
ACMC Tabletop Chocolate Tempering Machine Digital Temperature Readout 6 lb capacity
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Good little machine for home use and does a good job tempering. Small table top size. If you are an at home chocolatier ok but if you are serious then find a better machine and larger capacity.Most chefs just use a good warming kettle and temper by hand by seeding the chocolate and mixing.I never thought about that light bulb heater thing, that could be an issue in a few years when they are all gone. Hilliards run on bulbs also. Hmmm.
ACMC Tabletop Chocolate Tempering Machine Digital Temperature Readout 6 lb capacity
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks Ruth. So, maybe it is not such a good idea. I will have to look at my finances once again.
ACMC Tabletop Chocolate Tempering Machine Digital Temperature Readout 6 lb capacity
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
It is an ok temperer. The bowl rotates with a divider in the middle to keep the lump chocolate from the melted. It doesn't hold very much but maintains the temp well. A bit bulky. One thing to consider--the heat source is light bulbs and they are being discontinued in the next few years.
ACMC Tabletop Chocolate Tempering Machine Digital Temperature Readout 6 lb capacity
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hi, I'm very new to this chocolate making (apart from a little "playing with it as a hobby) Can anyone tell me more about the ACMC Tabletop Chocolate Tempering Machine Digital Temperature Readout 6 lb capacity. Is it a good one, does it have an agitator or do you have to stir it yourself. Money is very tight and this price is closer to what I can afford as many others I have look at.
Thanks
Magriet
updated by @Magrietha Hendrika du Plessis: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
all i have to say is that i've learned that the physical process can't be separated from the flavor development process. it is all happening at the same time - i have a Mazzetti Ball mill and a L and D universal....
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
You'll find that your raw materials will affect your finished rheology a great deal - consistency is key. How you treat your chocolate post particle size reduction will also be very, very important if controlling rheology is important to you as well. Order of addition of ingredients is important. Don't forget the environment can be very influential.
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
I think i will find a lab roller refiner as well as the ball mill, this way chefs can chcolaiers can come and use same recipe with both, and we will learn the difference. I see some used lab equipment at reasonable prices are available. The big issue I see with a lot of chefs with local startups is that the rheaology and viscosity often limit the chocolates use in Fine pastry and confection work. THis I need to solve and understand better if various production techniques combined with fat content, fat binding to particles, etc is effecting flow and ease of use for professionals, albeit fine eating chocolate from these producers.
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
I think, in the realm of information that is likely to be publicly shared with you or freely available, what you find is going to be heavily influenced by the type of mfr you speak to (ie the refiner guys will tell you that their product is the best, ball milling guys the same). It will be heavily influenced by tradition and unproven beliefs (you will find folks in every camp that believe their way is the best simply because that's what they've always done, or that's what their predecessor or admired teacher told them - chefs are notorious for this). You yourself are already predisposed towards roll refiners; however in the above text you're only comparing it to one other production method (i can think of at least 8 particle size reduction technologies that are used commonly), and chances are very high that at least some of the chocolates you've consumed, you have no idea what process was used to convert it. Additionally, you will find that those who have spent the time and resources to do a scientific study to determine and quantify the differences in the various production methods will guard their results closely, as there are distinct competitive advantages that can be leveraged if one understands the options at a detailed level.
I will tell you that it is quite possible to make very similar (read: indistinguishable via the consumer) chocolate via multiple production methods (for example, i can make a dark chocolate on a refiner as well as another type (or types) of production kit that you will not be able to distinguish from one another. There are also chocolates that require a very specific type of kit to make, and that you simply can not make via another method. It is very dependent upon the type of chocolate you are making, and the specifics of that chocolate's physical and sensory components become very important. There is no single answer to the question you seek.
Generally speaking, each approach will have thematic pros and cons associated with it. Some are more heavily weighted towards product (ie how it handles raw materials and converts to finished product) while others are more heavily weighted towards throughput and energy utilization. Chocolate processing has far more science behind it than most admit to, as quite frankly most don't understand it, and the industry abounds with myth and misperception. Many companies continue to do things 'because that's the way it's always worked' and have, over time, created hypothesis as to why something does or doesn't work - but by and large, those theories haven't really been tested or challenged in a valid fashion. There are exceptions, of course, and those exceptions will, for the most part, be treated as trade secrets due to the advantage the understanding offers.
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
Richard:
We really are talking apples, oranges, and kumquats here. I think the first question is what market you intend to address?
IMO, there aren't a lot of people looking to set up production facilities in par with the scale of TCHO. Their Universal is a 3MT machine and is fronted by a ball mill. Theoretically, they could be producing 15-20MT/week in their plant - from liquor as they have no roaster and, on the pier, they are not likely to.
The real growth in the market (as I see it) is how to help companies that are in their real startup phase (i.e., producing in 5Kg batches) or in small production (e.g., producing 40-50kg batches) move up to the next level of production and to do so cost effectively. Going the Mast Brothers route (without the Selmi) a used convection oven, Crankandstein, CPS (or similar) winnower, and a 65L CocoaTown costs about $10k.
What's the next step? Spending over $70K for the basic (15Kg) BLT setup is too big a jump for most startups. It's not enough increase in production to justify the price differential. The cost structure goes up but the throughput to pay for the increased costs does not go up at the same rate.
The 50Kg Netzsch ChocoEasy is about $95K right now (about 60K Euros). That number is low, because you still need the support equipment (roaster, cracker, winnower, grinder) to support it.
If I was looking to spend roughly 110K Euros on new equipment there are solutions which offer up to 400Kg/day throughput (not including tempering/molding) for that amount of money. The throughput increase is great enough to justify the cost difference.
It's also really, really, really important to note that once you get above a certain production size, what really matters is materials handling. Everything can be moved around by hand when you're doing up to a couple of hundred kilos a day, but above that you really do need to consider where you're going to be storing beans (receiving/cleaning, storage, staging before and after roasting), where you're going to be storing chaff and nib, how you're moving/pumping (and storing) liquor and finished chocolate. The issues associated with materials handling are critical when considering growth above a certain size.
Where's the tipping point? I don't know - it depends on how much experience you have. I visited Pralus's factory in 2009 and they still move everything around by hand. They have 3, 250Kg Universals (two dark, one dedicated to milk). There's a 35kg ball roaster and a cracker/winnower. I did not see where they store/age their chocolate after it comes out of the Universal and before it gets molded or what they store it in. But Pralus did not start out at this production level, he's grown into it over many years. If he started from scratch today, with little experience is that how he'd set it up? Probably not.
With respect to your question about conching. It's really about three things: final particle size reduction, breaking up agglomerates and covering all the powder particles with fat, and flavor development. The "beauty" of the Netzsch approach is that it decouples the physical processes from the flavor development processes. You run it through the ball mill until you get the particle size you want and then stop pumping the chocolate through the ball mill and only beat it and aerate it to evaporate out aromatics you don't want.
You could do the physical processes another way (e.g., a grinder into a roll refiner then into a universal for a short while) and then use a device like the Duyvis-Wiener taste changer for final flavor development. (You could also blow a lot of air through the universal using both push and pull fans.)
What's important to know - and this is where having a variety of equipment on hand helps - is that the optimum time required for the the physical processes is not the same as the optimum time required to develop flavor. If it takes 48 hours of continuous grinding to get the texture where you want it you run the risk of driving off a lot of interesting flavors.
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
And please forgive my typos as I am traveling and iPad typing is not the easiest.
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
On the startup method, I was thinking mote startup of larger volumes, not the small Cocoa town or Alchemy type customer but more small to mid size commercial manufacturers, like Tcho for example. They use Mackentyres, but again I see very few other than the big guys using roller refiners, yet some of the best chocolate from a fineness and consistency comes from the bigh guys. I did a project with Frank Callebaut a few years ago where we spec'd out a million lb a year factory, and in ere we had. Two roll followed by a five roller refiner. I have been buying chocolate for the last 30 years from nearly every major producer in the world, totaling hundreds of millions of pounds, and the roller refiner factories in my opinion, from a consistency, viscosity, fineness, smoothness perspective, have always been the best. One can argue bean origins, flavor profiles, fruitiness, etc, but I like to rely equally on process quality.Yesterday I spent the day at BLT. I was very impressed with the roaster, winnower, and we made chocolate the whole day. This lab style equipment is very top quality, tough as nails. I am not sure if there is a Better way to make small batches of liquor from nibs, as their hammer milling liquor required 3 passes to get to 90 microns from the broken nibs. I would like to find a better way if one exists. From there we Ent on to their ball mill refiner, and made some decent chocolate. I don't quite understand the ball mill finished product (no conching?)........ Every European factory I have been to emphasizes the conching importance. I have more to learn here. Help me out if you know.
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
Ben:
I would be more than happy to share what we're doing. At the moment, if this were a software project, I would characterize it as "we're still in the early design phase, have a direction, and want to do one proof of concept before we open things up to the community." Very definitely when we get to the point that we have our first physical prototype - we'll open it up for community review.
I can tell you that we are working on the impact principle. There is a long way to go from your description of a drill with plates to something that works ("hoping" the beans crack is not an option unless you have an automatic return for uncracked beans on your winnower - otherwise huge amounts of extra manual labor are involved). We actually took a look at four different approaches that I had come up with after talking to a lot of people with a lot of experience cracking cocoa and building machines, and narrowed it down to one approach that we can easily prototype.
There are a bunch of fun challenges to solve, including finding an inexpensive way to control the rate at which the beans enter the cracker. The brute force method the Crankandstein relies on won't work for this method.
Another thing we're set on doing is incorporating a small digital controller - based on an Arduino - so that users can program the speed of the central cracking mechanism as well as the feed mechanism. We'll open source that, too.
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
And to the original topic, I agree with Clay on what most new makers use. I've been in contact with several new makers like myself and all started on santhas or ultras and some have then moved up to larger melangers.
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
Clay,
Any chance you'd give us more info about the bean cracker you're working on? After all, the biggest strength of open source is in the development process--"given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow" and all that.
I'm particularly interested as this is something I've been thinking about lately, too. I've read of bean crackers that fling the beans against a metal plate and been thinking of a way to build something like this myself. I'd probably start with metal plates attached to a drill and dropping beans through them. Hopefully, they'd get hit a couple times on the way down.
-Ben
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
Richard:
There are differences in flavor and texture with every different combination of equipment used in the production chain. Most people never have the luxury to experiment with different production methods until they outgrow one and have to step up to a new one.
It's not always true that roll refiners and ball mills are mutually exclusive: I know of one Italian equipment manufacturer that offers a "turnkey" system that includes a roaster, cracker/winnower, roll refiner (used a liquor grinder), AND a ball mill. One of their customers has purchased an old-style melangeur and goes from the ball mill (particle size reduction) to the melangeur (using it like a conche for flavor development).
You will also find a difference between two otherwise identical roll mills - one that uses steel rollers and the other granite.
I've been working with another company that uses a large Indian-sourced wet mill to turn nibs into liquor and then uses a "universal" to convert the liquor, after it has aged, into finished chocolate.
There are some well-known and respected companies that use ball mills: Domori is one; of course, Netzsch's ChocoEasy machines incorporate their ball mils - ball mills are ideally suited to continuous production lines. One of the knocks against most conventional ball mills is uneven particle size distribution. The peak tends to be wider than other methods and their is often a bump in the tail where there are large sizes.
I would have to disagree that most startups use ball mills, though. Apart from the Netzsch machines, which are very expensive - a 50kg machine costs over $90,000 - the only other small ball mill unit I know of is from BLT. At close to $100k their "turnkey" systems are still too expensive for most startups.
My experience is that most startups start out with a small (5kg) kitchen appliance wet grinder and then graduate to one or more of the larger ones as it is comparatively economical to grow the business this way and, because the technique is essentially the same the finished product is not too different. The challenge is the support equipment. Finding comparably scaled (and priced) roasters, crackers, and winnowers is not so easy. I just solved the winnower problem (~50 lbs/hr for about $5k) and am working on an alternative to the most-used small cracker that uses an entirely different principle and should create much smaller quantities of "fines" (which increases yield). I will have a prototype sometime this summer. If it works, we plan to open-source the plans as well as offer it in kit form for those who don't want to build one themselves.
We've corresponded privately about your soon-to-open school in Irvine and I think it's something that's absolutely necessary for the industry. I applaud Qzina for taking the initiative on this. I think that starting small (with respect to batch sizes) and offering the widest possible variety of equipment to work with is a sound approach. Making good chocolate is as much (or more) ART as Science. No one way is better than another; they're all different and can all produce good chocolate. Which way (if any) is better depends on what the desired outcome is.
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
I am researching the differences between making or shall I say refining chcolate and ingredient mixes on a ball mill refiner versus roller refiner process. There seems to be a difference of opinion. I must say the finest chocolate I have tasted most often comes off a roller refined, dry conch and then wet conch system. Recently in researching bean to bar production for our teaching institute opening in Irvine this fall, I find most startups using ball refining. I think this may be due to the abundance of used equipment and a more simple process. Lots of Macintyres and the like on the market, and old conches. I have seen that dry conching is not a possibility with ball refining.
See on this link a study done on ball mill refining if interested. I wish I had more info on the differences between the two. Ideally I would like to setup both systems in our training institute if money permits so we can find our own answers but if you have any opinion or oher scientific input, please let me know.
http://www.aseanfood.info/Articles/11020318.pdf
I would like to see comparable data on roller refined chocolate. Again I go back to the best of the best, and it always seems to come off roller refiners.
updated by @Richard Foley: 04/11/15 09:32:45
Artisan du Chocolat
Posted in: Chocolate Education
Three ways:
1) You can include a short note in a friend request.
2) You can add a comment to their profile and they will be notified that the comment has been added to their profile.
3) If neither 1) or 2) works, ask me to do it. As moderator, I can send messages to everyone.
Artisan du Chocolat
Posted in: Chocolate Education
Sunita:
RE: liquor/liqueur. It's a fairly common mistake, but, regardless, liqueur is only for truly alcoholic beverages.
As for how Gerard is doing what he does, I will leave it to him/Anne to tell the story.
I know search is not great. I added the Google Search box to the home page to address part of the problem and whenever you're looking for members it's best to start out using the search function on the Members page.
:: Clay
Artisan du Chocolat
Posted in: Chocolate Education
On a technical note, is there a way to send a message directly to a member on TCL without being "friends" with them?
Artisan du Chocolat
Posted in: Chocolate Education
Thanks for responding Clay.
And for the "cocoa liquor" correction. I had thought they were used interchangeably. My bad.
Whatever Gerard is doing with whichever machine, he is making some lovely flavor combinations as well as lovely single origin bars. Hence my interest in knowing more of the story.
Good that you mention that they are TCL members. After some searching I realise that "Artisan" is actually Anne Weyns. I will bring the post to her attention. I have not had good luck with the search function on The Chocolate Life.
Artisan du Chocolat
Posted in: Chocolate Education
#1 - Having visited the workshop in Ashford, Kent and spoken at length with Gerard and Anne I can tell you that the liquor is sourced from various companies - it depends on the origin of the liquor. From my memory, the beans are sourced and roasted to their specs and are not "stock" products can be purchased.
#2 - It's properly spelled liquor (cocoa liquor, chocolate liquor), not liqueur.
Origin liquors are pretty widely available, but usually not in small quantities or commitments. There are people who will make them (in relatively small quantities) bespoke for you if you are interested in purchasing them and finishing the chocolate yourself.
Also from the discussion, I know that Gerard is using his chocoeasy in some pretty interesting ways to incorporate his flavors into their chocolates.
Sunita - why don't you ask them to respond to this post directly? They have a membership on TCL.
Artisan du Chocolat
Posted in: Chocolate Education
Thank you Masur.
Any idea where their cacao liqueur is being produced? Is single origin liqueur widely available on the market? Or is this something they source specifically for their purposes?
Sunita
Artisan du Chocolat
Posted in: Chocolate Education
L'artisan du Chocolat is not bean to bar. Theystart withcacao liqueur.
"L'artisan du Chocolat uses the ChocoEasy50 to produce fine, specialty chocoaltes."
Artisan du Chocolat
Posted in: Chocolate Education
I am wondering if anyone has more information on the practises and sourcing (of cacao bean or liquor?) employed by Artisan du Chocolat.
Their bars are very enjoyable and their inclusion bars are very tasty and reasonably priced. However, I am having a hard time determining whether this company is bean-to-bar? If yes, are all their bars bean to bar? Or only their single origins? Does this company buy cacao liqueur from a third party? Are they working with local folks in country of bean origin to do some value add on site?
From what I gather from their website, their Vietnam bar sounds like it may be processed into cacao liqueur (in Vietnam?) and then conched and refined in Ashford?
from Artisan du Chocolat site:
"Dark chocolate 72% bar made with Vietnamese ground Trinitario cocoa beans, conched and refined at our production in Ashford."
Thank you in advance for anything you might be able to add to this question.
Sunita de Tourreil
The Chocolate Garage
updated by @Sunita de Tourreil: 04/20/15 01:25:55
The Chocolate Garage: Palo Alto
Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself
Hello everyone,
Clay Gordon asked me moons ago to go ahead and introduce myself, since I own and operate a small chocolate business in Silicon Valley. Somehow time has kept slipping away-- typical of operating a new business I suppose.
I am Sunita de Tourreil, Founder of The Chocolate Garage . I am an enthusiastic supporter of what I call "Happy Chocolate". I have a small business that primarily organizes chocolate tasting events in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. These tastings focus on education (how and where cacao is grown, how chocolate is made) and after leading a blind tasting, I tell the stories behind the chocolate makers. I tend to focus on local artisanal makers who are part of 'Nouveau American' chocolate, redefining the way chocolate is made and pushing the envelope especially in terms of transparency.
Our emphasis is on "Happy Chocolate", by which I mean chocolate that is having a positive impact on both the planet and it's people, especially cacao farming communities. Our mission is to make Happy Chocolate more available and give people ways to make chocolate choices that support and nurture the small farmer and the high quality chocolate industry.
I have found the community that Clay has fostered here at The Chocolate Life invaluable in my own chocolate education and I hope to be able to contribute even a fraction of what I have received from The Chocolate Life.
Sincerely,
Sunita de Tourreil
updated by @Sunita de Tourreil: 04/16/15 04:17:51
Organic cacao liquor in bulk in the US / Canada ?
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
I am waiting for a quote and some info from Icam. They have a sales office in LA, made in Italy,, also I was told that Guittard has an organiic liquor, do you need FT or just Organic?
Organic cacao liquor in bulk in the US / Canada ?
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Hello Richard,
Thanks for the reply. Would like to learn more. I can send you some details and would like to learn more about what you have and Icam. Perhaps we can get some samples send to our warehouse in Blaine, WA.
Organic cacao liquor in bulk in the US / Canada ?
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Thanks Jeff. I have sent you a message with more details of our needs.
Organic cacao liquor in bulk in the US / Canada ?
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
We can supply you with organic liquor or put you in touch with Icam. They have fair trade and organic liquor and chocolate. I have samples in my office at Qzina in LA. Nice stuff.
Organic cacao liquor in bulk in the US / Canada ?
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
If you would like to source this directly from Ecuador for shipment into the US or Canada, let me know. I can get product made to your specs with your chosen variety of beans from Ecuador (Arriba/Naciona, CCN-51, or a blend.) Please contact me here on thechocolatelife.com
Organic cacao liquor in bulk in the US / Canada ?
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
We are currently looking for additional supply of organic and fair trade cacao liquor and are wondering if anyone on The Chocolate Life located in the US or Canada could offer us supply in the 25KG + (up to pallet quantities) of a very good quality cacao liquor? We have worked with Dominican, Peruvian and Costa Rican liquor, but are also interested in other origins.
We have warehousing in Washington state and are also located in British Columbia Canada, so shipping in either country is possible.
Thanks! Kent
updated by @Kent Goodwin: 04/07/25 13:00:14
Peppy pumper for JKV wheel machine
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Richard, Thank you for your reply. I think I understand. Currently I am seeding my machine continuously with tempered solid chocolate to add more chocolate as my tank runs low. I imagine I will not be able to add quick enough and keep chocolate in temper and be productive when using a pump. What do you recommend to melt chocolate to add to my JKV? Also does this melted chocolate need to be in temper that is added to the machine? Thank you for your help!
Peppy pumper for JKV wheel machine
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
I have worked with JKV and all the clones of that machine. As it not a true tempering machine, you have to control tempering and crystallization manually. Therefore I would be nervous about increasing volume or more movement as risk of over crystallization in a small batch. We have many many customers using this style machine for molding, and capacity is never an issue on the flow of chocolate to the spout. Are you talking about feeding the J.k.v from an external melter to keep full. If so, not a bad idea, as long as you can manage to keep all in temper. Most just continuer topping up the JKV using a bowl, and the slightly warmer chocolate added mixes in usually just as he JKV tank is starting to over crystalize, so once you get the hang of it, it works well as you are balancing out your batch. You will notice over time the JKV batch will thicken due to over crystalized chocolate and thus you have to increase the thermostat temp or add in some untempered chocolate to kill off some of the over tempered chocolate crystals.
Peppy pumper for JKV wheel machine
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Has anyone attached a chocolate pump, such as the Wahl Peppy Pumper, to a JKV wheel type chocolate tempering machine? If so does this increase productivity? Make for cleaner production? Any thoughts? Thank you.
updated by @Sheri Weedman: 04/07/25 13:00:14