Forum Activity for @Clay

I found this review on Amazon which confirms some of my thoughts:

I ordered this bowl to help me temper chocolate, it didn't.

Firstly if you think the heating element runs up the sides of the bowl your wrong, it gets heated by the very very bottom of the bowl, um, so if you were to say place 2 pounds of chocolate in it... maybe the very bottom melts... the rest just sits there, way faster to just place in microwave.

You will have the same problem once you get your choclate into temper the "range" you get doesnt allow you to stay between say 87 and 92 (by 93 your out of temper).

If you take a thermal gun and take readings up the sides of the bowl (even a mere inch off the bottom) the temperature drops off so quickly...

Ridiculous waste off money, sad because I had high hopes...

They need to redesign this thing...

Lauren:

I think this is a very interesting product but two of the primary concerns I had about it were temperature range and accuracy. According to Kitchen Aid:

Precision Temperature Technology (?)

Select any temperature from 70 to 220 degrees F (21 to 104 degrees C) in two degree increments.

So the precision is not all that precise ... when it comes to working with chocolate. I can see how it would be great for a home kitchen where tempering chocolate is an occasional thing, but maybe not so much for the professional kitchen. My guess is that it's actually ± 1C, which is 1.9F.

That said, as Brad suggests ... if I already have the right model of Kitchen Aid mixer getting one of these and playing with it is probably worth the investment and I can see it as fast and efficient chocolate melter in conjunction with a scraper blade.

Lauren -

Welcome to TheChocolateLife!

David -

Sebastian is right, of course. Without knowing what you want to produce and how much you need to make in any given time it's very difficult to know where to direct you.

David - i'd encourage you to identify what's important for your equipment, and folks can better help direct you.  IE - how much do you want to make, and with what frequency?  Will it be used every day?  What particle sizes ranges are relevant?  What type of temperature control do you want, and why?  

Once it's understood what you want to do with it, and how it will be used, you're likely to get better information.

Welcome!  It's a good place to hang your hat and learn 8)

Hi Lauren;

Your post got me curious, and I went online to check it out.

Interesting concept for sure! Please keep everyone posted.

At the very least, it would be great for proofing dough for bread at home!  I just might have to order one myself.

Cheers

Brad

Has anyone invested in one of these?

There aren't many reviews out there, and 99% of questions/reviews I HAVE seen for it, haven't been in regards to tempering chocolate - but for all the other uses for the mixing bowl (proofing bread dough etc). So I'm curious to see if anyone has used it before and your thoughts on it.

I did go ahead and order one anyways because, its a MUCH easier way to temper chocolate vs t abliering and takes all the arm cramps out of seeding   Not to mention, cheaper than an actual tempering machine. I've had it about 2 weeks now and I do have a few questions about it, so if anyone has one and can share experiences that'd be great!

Thanks in advance!!

-Lauren

Hi!

Im Lauren, 29, from the East Coast US and I am a confectioner....of sorts

I'm currently a student at Ecole Chocolat, enrolled in the Professional Chocolatier Program and the Busuness Plan Program. I've been using confectoners coating for forever, but once I decided I wanted to make a business of it, I figured the best way to start a chocolate dipped confections business, was to learn how to use real   chocolate.

Thus far, the course has been very valuable to me...sure, I could've read books and watched videos and learned to temper chocolate without dropping $1200.00 to take the course, but in additon to learning to temper, i've learned much about the history and production, as well as the science of chocolate. I may have even found myself a business partner, which is fantastic . 

I'm super happy to have found TheChocolateLife and look forward to gaining knowledge, and learning from the active members of the site!

Thanks Daniel. Unfortunately it´s a government institution which requires the equipment and they are not allowed to buy second hand machinery. I´m checking FBM right now.

Correct, even on the lowest tension setting there is still some grinding going on. I've had one batch over-refine at that setting, producing a pasty chocolate with a max particle size around 12 microns.

As soon as I can afford to I will separate out grinding from refining.

Daniel;

The small universals I use in my lab allow me to dial the tension of the blades right back to the point where they don't even touch the side of the machine.  In that case it would still be conching.  Doesn't yours do that?

Cheers

Brad

David: that equipment looks like a great deal. It might be possible to find some used for cheaper.

I have a universal and sometimes wish I could keep conching without grinding, so have to agree that if you have the budget to buy separate equipment it's the way to go. You might also consider FBM's Kleego.

David;

You were disengenuous, so I took a page from your book.

"...The problem is that someone who does not have a clue about that, already had some budget assigned to each equipment. My job is to find the specific piece of equipment ....."

I guess by your own account of how you felt you were treated by me, you insulted your employer too eh?  

If you want GOOD advice, then be humble.  Admit to knowing nothing, even if you know more than nothing.  ...and when you DO get advice.  Accept it graciously, then do the substantiation ON YOUR OWN.  Don't ask the person giving the advice to prove themselves.  Refuting a person's advice, and then qualifiying it with "correct me if I'm wrong." is simply a polite way of saying "I don't believe you. Prove to me what you say."  Stated in either context, I consider it rude.

In Canada we have an old saying:  "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

Brad.

Oh... and to keep on topic, I STILL recommend that you find, qualify, and hire someone who DOES have a clue.  That should be your task.

De nada.  Happy Easter folks.

Thanks, Sebastian!

Brad, it is nice of you to take time to help others. "you haven't got a clue on how to make chocolate" might be factual but it was not necessary and came off as insulting.

Daniel - those look completely fine to me. I'm going with #1 above - just polysaccharide reside - i don't see any visual indicators of other defects from that photo. 

David, my reply WAS nice.

You asked for advice. I took some time out of my busy day and gave you very valuable advice - advice that is backed up by real-world experience. I even gave you an example.

I didn't have to say anything. In fact I could have remained silent like the thousands of other people on this forum who currently are silent on this topic.

Yet I decided to help YOU.  And whether you like it or not it is good advice.

I didn't call you names or attack you personally or insult your mother. I simply stated fact.

As a good and proper Canadian I should at this point in time I apologize to you because you are offended. After all up here we apologize to people for everything.

...but I am not going to.

Go buy that conch.  It's a great buy, and it's shiny!

Sebastian: I had to shell 47 beans to get 20 with "rust", so about 40%. Attached is a photo of 21 beans, one that looked diseased (but had no rust colour), and the 20 that all otherwise seem fine.

 IMG_6279.JPG.jpg - 2MB

Clay: I bought them raw. Exterior rust appearance isn't a perfect indicator - some that looked fine had rust, others that didn't had some inside.

Greg - you want 8 guage stainless wire - aka 0.05mm (some people are using 13 guage as well) - attaching a discussion here.

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/61605-guitar-cutter-sourcing-using-maintaining/?page=1

Are the bolts the same on both ends of the wires?

Clay is right - if you can find a half size speed rack or a stainless table with speed rack shelving under it - it will make a fine holder for your guitar.

I use guitar sheets which are flexible plastic instead of acetate or silicone.

Brad, I don´t know if i got lost in the translation, but i'm feeling really insulted by your response.

I try to be polite in my limited english but if i ever insulted anyone, please let me know, i´m not aiming for that.

If you can´t say things nicely, please don´t.

Thank you!

David;

From your post above and your "theory" with respect to particle reduction based on something you might have read in a book somewhere, it sounds to me like you haven't got a clue on how to make chocolate.  At the very least, you shouldn't be helping ANYBODY set up a state of the art chocolate lab.

What you SHOULD be doing is trying to source an accomplished professional who DOES know what he/she's doing, and has a pedigree to prove it, then contracting his/her services to compose a report on the equipment needed given the vision of the corporation and budget the organization is restricted to.   That professional will know the in's and outs of pretty much all of the equipment needed for each task in the chocolate making process, and will make recommendations in their final report.  They will probably even provide names and phone numbers so accounting can place the orders.

Clay can do this.

I can do this.

This is the recommendation you should take back to the institution you are working for.  While your final report might cost you several thousand dollars and it may seem like a set back at first, one simple change in the decision to buy one piece of equipment over the other can potentially save your organization 10's of thousands of dollars.

As hard as this is to read, a professional's advice is usually worth the money spent.

I'll give you an example that just happened to me last week:

Last week I spent $7,000 on an engineering report for the mezzanine above the work area of my factory lab.  Ouch.  That stung.  It's a good thing I did though.  The engineer found significant deficiencies which could have shut the whole project down at inspection time, or even worse - killed someone when the loaded storage area collapsed on my lab.

I hope this advice helps you go down the right path.  Asking random strangers for opinions  on a specific piece of equipment because it "looks good" while helping build a "state of the art" chocolate lab is not the right path.

Case in point:  Fly to Calgary, and pay me $6,000 euro's to SHOW you why you don't need a small useless conche worth $12,000 euro's.  Your flight and my fee combined will save you $4,000 euros!  We all win!

Cheers

Brad

Hi Clay

I don´t think a universal conche could give as much process control as a separate refining / conching process for a lab, please correct me if i´m wrong. This one is expensive but it would be my choice. 

http://www.caotech.com/products/cwc-5/

Brad,

Thanks for your offering, is it possible to chat via skype? i´m suffering trying to make equipments fit what they gave me, i have a lot of questions.

I have a general question, i think i´ve read in The Science of Chocolate (Beckett) that it is generally better to reduce particle size gradualy in order to avoid a particle distribution with many "coarse" and "over refined" pieces, and so, i was convinced that ball mills should be fed with "liquid" cocoa liquor, but i´ve seen lately a lot of ball mills being fed by cocoa nibs directly with no replacement of the grinding media which makes me think that particle distribution can´t be the best in that process. Could that be truth? has anyone fed nibs directly to a ball mill?

It's one of two things.  It's either remants of the polysaccharide material that holds the shell to the nib, or it's mold.  It's probabaly the first one, but do me a favor.

Attempt to quantify how many of the rusty beans you see (edit: i mean, give me a rough % - is it 5% of the total bean?  30% etc), and then take 20 of them, break them in half, and take a photo of what you see inside and repost that?

Daniel -

Did you buy them roasted or did you roast them yourself. If you roasted them yourself, did they look this way before you roasted them?

Shelling a few roasted cocoa beans from a new origin and I'm finding a lot of what looks like rust.

The beans don't taste bad and I'm having trouble describing the taste. It's pretty muted, the texture might be a bit chalky.

Does anyone know what this is?

 IMG_6271.JPG.jpg - 1.8MB

David;

I'm right in the process of building a new lab and factory.  As someone who has over the past 10 years made and sold several million dollars worth of chocolate, I can answer ALL of your questions.

Brad@Choklat.com or 403-472-8701

I guarantee that your savings will be in the 10's of thousands of dollars.

Cheers

Brad 

I know several makers who have Cacao Cucina equipment. It's value is that it is NSF certified and made with UL listed parts and adhere to all sorts of safety regulations. Therefore, they tend to be expensive for what they offer. People like the cracker/winnowers, even though they are expensive. The one piece of equipment I've seen in use that I just cannot recommend at all is the liquor grinder.

Caotech and Buhler are both highly-respected companies so I would have no problems recommending equipment from either of them. It's a matter of capacity and pricing. 

By lab conche, you refer to a "universal?"

Thanks Clay, i was writing in Word and then pasting it here. That was causing the error.

I found a "small" laboratory ball mill from Cacao cucina. I don´t know how much it cost yet, but I have a bad impression from Cacao Cucina from some forums and opinions.

Does anyone have any experience with them?

On the other hand, Caotech offers me 5kg laboratory conche and ball mill for about 12.000 euros each and i think they look great.

Any comments on Caotech? Caotech Vs Bühler ?

Chocolate World Mold CW1453

15 gram cavity

3x8 total 24 cavities

have 6 molds available

$12 each plus shipping

Used Walnut Molds

by Chocolate World CW1015

I have 10 toal.  Willing to sell individually.

13 gram cavitiies

3 x 8 -  24 total cavities

$12 each plus shipping.

David:

With regard to the error, you are trying to enter some HTML directly into your post that is not allowed - or something the software thinks is HTML. One reason is to keep people from posting arbitrary Javascript. Were you using any pointy brackets "<" or ">"?

To the best of my knowledge there are no ball mills at the price point you mention, lab or otherwise — even very small ones.

I know of a source for a two-roll refiner (granite or steel, 300mm wide, low-speed) for under €10,000. Three-roll refiners (granite or steel, 400mm wide) are €12,000 or so. Both are plus shipping.

Hi everyone i could really use some help with some work stuff. i am recently working with some colombian institution and they want to set a state of the art cocoa and chocolate lab, wich i think it is great.

The problem is that someone who does not have a clue about that, already had some budget assigned to each equipment. My job is to find the specific piece of equipment and supplier that fits the name and price already assigned, and of course it is a huge pain ....

So, i would really appreciate if someone could help me with some specifics

Laboratory ball mill around 1 k

laboratory or commercial roll refiner mill around 10k

someone knows if there is a specific equipment and use for cocoa and chocolate for a potentiometer ? no more info

i know i am taking a long shot. i am aware that laboratory equipment is more expensive that commercial, but i am running out of places to look and ask about this.

i will take any suggestions and comments

PD. i know the spelling is not right, but i am having some error trying to post. 

You have entered an invalid value for "text" - value must be printable characters with the following allowed HTML tags: span,strong,em,a,b,u,i,p,div,br,img,h1,h2,h3,h4,pre,hr,ul,ol,li

i do not know exactly wich caracter is invalid in my text

I am also interested in price, photos, and location. My email is Sarah@chocolita.com

Hi, I'm looking for a case or two so could you email me photos pricing and your location. cherri@cherrischocolart.com

Hi Mary Lou,

I saw your ad for the Hilliard.  It is just the tempering machine, does not include the pump/conveyor?  If that is correct, serious offer of $4,000.00 plus shipping.

Well maintained. Gently used.   Alternative Air/ColdCore Model AACCA-60R Dimensions: 5 ft length x 24 inch depth X 48 inches height humidity/temperature controlled; brass; curved. 4 shelving displays (3 glass, lower level, metal) and lower storage compartment. 2 glass doors open in back.

Please email for photo, pricing or more information.

julie@sibusura.com

Excellent condition. Custom-built. Gently used. Roast cacao beans and/or coffee beans. Was used for cacao beans. 3 KiLO per batch capacity. Electric. Beautiful piece. We were very happy with this gem. Photo attached. Email for pricing, specs, and/or additional information. Manual notebook and training CD included. On-site training for extra cost available. Serious inquiries only. 

Reduced Price $6800, regular asking price $7500 (AND includes $700 shipping crate). Shipping costs is buyer's responsibility. Original cost with parts approximately 13k.  

Wire payment only accepted.   

Roasting machine already in custom-built crate...included in price

julie@sibusura.com 

 roaster.JPG.jpg - 170KB

Quantity 16 Molds, asking $15 each or $200 for all of them -

Polycarbonate mold, 3 cavities, 6x3 1/8x.5in, approximately 6oz, Cocoa pod grid pattern.
Approximate measures and weight supplied by the manufacturer.

All in great shape.

 17557118.jpg - 11KB