Clay;
Your first paragraph implies that I failed to credit the content of this site. That's not true. I credited this site equally. by referring to ".....THIS AND Chocolate Alchemy's site."
Cheers.
Brad
While Brad is right that many if not all of your questions will be answered on Chocolate Alchemy as the owner of this site I like to think that members of TheChocolateLife so have something to add that could be unique.
Question Set 1)
If you don't want to go bean to bar yet, your only option is to work from paste and/or butter and/or powder. Many companies in the raw chocolate community got their start this way and continue to work this way. If you use a liquid sweetener or coconut palm nectar you do not need a melangeur to incorporate (grind) the sweetener into the other ingredients. Because of the water in honey, maple syrup, and agave syrup and they are the identical sweetness of cane sugar you will find that tempering is different from chocolate that uses a crystalline sugar and that recipes will differ.
Question Set 2)
The trend is definitely toward lighter-weight bars especially for bars made from expensive ingredients that would otherwise have a very high price point. I've seen them as low as 25gr (Domori) up to the 70-80gr range. What makes sense for your market depends on your cost structure. You can choose the price point - bar weight - based on your cost of goods and cost of manufacturing.
Question Set 3)
If you are looking for custom molds and don't want to spend US$5k or more, you are looking at thermoform molds. I don't who the manufacturers are in Canada. Tomric in Rochester, NY offers a good thermoform mold program and Micelli Brothers (also in New York) is offering a mold program for custom injection polycarbonate molds for small producers at $5000 for 100 molds that includes design, prototypes, and manufacturing, but not shipping.
Question Set 4)
Everyone I know who knows anything about sunflower lecithin says stay away from it in chocolate because it does not have a neutral taste and it will affect the taste of the chocolate negatively. You can get certified GMO-free soy lecithin (if GMO is the issue, not allergies. Lecithin will improve the workability and texture of conventional chocolate. As you are looking at sweeteners with a very high water content, I am not sure what the outcome will be.
Deadendish....
Ok... to avoid posting repetitive answers, my suggestion would be to read the many many many contributions on this and Chocolate Alchemy's site. They will answer all of your questions, and eliminate the need for redundant postings.
Cheers
Brad
Thanks for your insight.
I may be early in my development and some of the questions might not have validity in their thinking, however some do and to say "do more research" is somewhat deadendish in its support. I am doing more research continually and this is part of my research. Any insight into what I asked would be much appreciated.
I will check out chocolate alchemy and see what more I can find.
Thank you kindly 
Evan;
This will probably be the most valuable feedback anyone can provide you, given the nature and context of your questions: "Do a LOT more research before starting your business. You know absolutely nothing about chocolate."
There is a wealth of information on this site, and www.ChocolateAlchemy.com which will answer your questions (and then some), and give you the foundation you need to have at least a small prayer of hope in success.
Hello everyone! First of all I would like to give thanks to all who contribute to such a wonderful site, the information has been hugely helpful for me so far. I have a few questions that havent been exactly covered or at least I havent found them. Here we go!
So I am now undertaking the wonderful journey of chocolate. I have aspirations to go all the way to bean to bar production, go down south and find my favorite little farm, have baths in cacao liqueur and eat chocolate every day forever and ever
However, I have chosen to just start out working with raw paste (i will be making mostly raw chocolate but am not limiting myself), melting down, working my recipes, tempering on stone and molding bars for sale.
Question set number 1:
Is working with paste a good way to start? Is the raw paste available from most distributors already melanged enough for commercial grade chocolate?? I will be using honey and maple syrup for sweeteners (which im hoping are shelf stable) so i dont think I will need a melanger for breaking down the sugar particles.
Question set number 2:
Does anyone have any opinion on bars?? Have you noticed people preferring bigger bars (100g +) or smaller (+-50g) in general. Im thinking of hitting about the 75g range so the bars arent too pricey and still big enough to enjoy a full chocolate experience.
Question set number 3:
Who makes the best molds around for bars?? Where is the best place to look for packaging materials in Canada? Im going to go with foil and paper as it seems to be the easiest.
Question set number 3:
Will I get more shelf life, creamier texture if I use sunflower lecithin?
Many thanks!! I am aiming to get the company off the ground asap and am super thankful for any feedback.
LOVE
Thanks for all the suggestions!
Not in the USA but...... http://www.pcb-creation.fr/
My favorite brand of transfer sheet is PCB and Qzina supplies them. Also, www.bakedeco.com is a excellent source.
I also really like Choco Trasfer Sheets. Nicole and Kurt are great people.
Chef Rubber is my goto.
We got some fabulous transfer sheets for our recent chocolate workshop from ChocoTransferSheets.com
Lovely people -and they do custom as well as off the rack.
I always buy from American Chocolate Designs at www.americanchocolatedesigns.com I've always been pleased with their product. Karen
I just started my explorations into making my own chocolates and I have been looking around for companies that sell transfer sheets and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions.
Any help is welcome.
I made my first batch of dark chocolate (40%). i added 30% of cocoa liquor 10% cocoa butter 60% sugar and 0.5% soya lecithin. I did the conching it for 18 hours in my stone wet grinder. at around 150 F. my end product do taste good but its not liquid enough at 120 F. cant even mold it its kind of semi solid.
I got the cocoa liquor and butter from a company in kerala (india). when i spread a thin layer i can see a kind of flakes in it. should i conch it for more time..
kindly help.
Another source for good chocolate melters http://ipfco.com/Chocolate%20Melters.htm
[ Note added by moderator - IPFCO is located in India and the poster has a business relationship with the company. ]
Good Day Everyone
I am sorry if I come off the wrong way. I decision was imminent. I want to thank everyone for their input on this. I was able to get a Rev 2 for a very good price. I would still like to get a melter with the let over money which is around $600. I see that the Mol D'art Melter is very popular. I was also thinkingabout this melter. Does anyoneknow where the cheapest place to get one of these melters?Does anyone recommend any other melter?
Thanks again for the help!
I second the Mold'art. I have 3. I like the capacity and ease of dumping back into them when making molds.
I am a believer in getting a Mol D'art Melter to start. I purchased a 6kg melter and 5 years later I use it all the time. I have made many thousands of chocolates out of that thing. The other tempering machines are nice, but you will be able to produce more chocolates out of the melter.
Personally I would recommend the ACMC machine before the Rev 2. It will temper more chocolate, and is far less noisy.
Lawrence -
You did not indicate that your purchase decision was imminent so I don't think anyone thought you needed to know right now.
You can get a decent capacity melter - 10-12kg - for well under $1000. As you are confident with your manual tempering skills this is the least expenisve way to expand capacity in the price range you mention.
The other option is a small-capacity Chocovision (the Rev 2 specifically) is about your only choice. Get the holey baffle to increase your capacity, but it will still be lower than the melter. The one advantage a Chocovision does have is that it will do a better job of keeping the chocolate in temper over the course of several hours of working time. With the melter you will have to watch it more closely and be responsible for keeping it in temper.
It's a toss-up. If you are really, really comfortable with your manual tempering skills then you will probably be able to do a better job of tempering by hand than the Chocovision can. The difference is manual versus semi-automatic.
:: Clay
Good day to Everyone
I have been thinking about expanding my hobby chocolate making into a small business. I have been tempering by hand and melting on a double boiler for 1.5-2 lbs batch at a time, but I think it might be time to upgrade. I only have about $500-$1000 to spend at this time. I make bars and truffles. If you can let me know which you wouldpick and why it would be betterit would be a great help.
Thanks
Lawrence
Any referrals for sources for wholesale packaging of finished chocolates? I have worked with these boxes before... they are about 9"H x 9"W by maybe 6" tall and can accommodate four or five layers, and have a custom tray that perfectly fits the box. Found one at chocolat-chocolat, but it looked a little different, and I'd like to compare more than one source anyway.
Thanks!
Patricia - Veree Chocolate, Denver, CO
I'm pretty simple with my packaging. I use this box for most of my chocolates. I put 8 of my truffles in it. Each of them are around 15-16 grams, so it ends up being just shy of 5 oz most of the time. I have the other larger windowed box, but I don't use it quite as often. I should for assorted boxes, but since I have to pay for every minute of kitchen time at the moment, I try to keep things as streamlined as possible.
I like the box though because it's simple, it's cheap ($0.34 each on a cs of 250 before shipping), and it's got a good sized window to display the truffles with. They're really easy to set up too. It only takes me a few minutes to put together a bundle of 25 of them.
Looking for a packaging manufacturer.....any suggestions?
Thanks to everyone for your response.
Do you have a problem with the leaves drying out after you wash the berries? I try to buy, wash and dip the strawberries one day for use/deliver the next day but found that the leaves tend to dry up overnight. I store the dipped berries in a 70 degree room overnight. Any suggestions on keeping the leaves from drying out?
Karen
Karen -
Jeffray makes a good point about refrigeration. In my experience, it's best to use the freshest berries you can get and then keep them at room temp if you can. I try never to buy further in advance than the day before (or Friday for weekend festivals). I rinse the berries in cool water and place them on a towel, then dry the berry usinglint-free microfiber cloths. I don't worry about getting the leaves/stems perfectly dry. If I have to worry about longevity, I use gel packs in rack a large cooler and don't put the berries in a refrigerator.
When it comes to the dipping in chocolate part the berries need to perfectly dry. I also use lint-free microfiber cloths here.
I have spent many weekends at various festivals with a pair of Chocovision Rev2s dipping hundreds and hundreds of strawberries and dried apricots garnished with slices of candied ginger (and don't forget pretzels sticks for the kids).
Hi Karen,
Besides our bean to bar business we sellmany chocolate covered strawberries year round. We use organic strawberries and find that it is best to wash them approximately an hour or two before dipping otherwise the shelf life onthe strawberries is diminished significantly. We also do not refrigerate the berries as this tends to shorten the shelf life of the berry. We use large stainless steel bowls to wash the berries and then place them on baking pans to dry. We snip any dead leaves and make sure that berry is not bruised or damaged. The majority of the time the berries are in perfect condition as we purchase them usually the day before they are picked. Not sure where you live but we get sometimes spoiledhere with our fresh strawberries!Hope this helps.
Honestly, I haven't thought about it much... I've only done them a couple of times. Today was probably the fourth batch of 5lbs that I've dipped so far...
Thanks.........do you find that washing even in plain water dries out the cap & green leaves? I've had trouble with that happening to me in the past.
Thanks, Karen
I usually wash gently in a colander and dry with multiple paper towels. I get a little excessive with it, but I can't afford to waste chocolate. lol.
Can anyone give me advise on the best way to wash & prepare strawberries before dipping them?
Many Thanks,
Karen
Mike:
One way to look at the question is to take a look at the price you're going to be able to charge for your finished product and then work backwards from there.
If your market will pay for a premium product at 60 or more per kilo then you've got a lot of freedom to choose the chocolate you want. If your market has trouble paying20/kg then you need to look a lot harder at your chocolate choices.
Keep in mind that there's nothing magical about the air or water in Belgium or Switzerland or France that makes their chocolate any better than chocolate manufactured elsewhere. They all use pretty much the same machinery, they all use pretty much the same beans (that is, until you get into the premium brands).After that it's just marketing.
I think it's a matter of taste. Buy the chocolate you like. That said, there are people who think that Belgian chocolate is best or Swiss chocolate is best and if your market has a lot of people who've bought into the marketing hype then it makes sense to pay attention to that fact and use it to your advantage. From personal experience {{{{ shudder, trying to forget bad tasting experiences }}}} I can tell you that there is a lot of crap chocolate made in Belgium and Switzerland.
One approach I recommend to all my consulting clients is to consider blending two or more couvertures to arrive at a distinctive taste profile. One of the challenges with using the same chocolate that everyone else does is that it's much harder to differentiate your product from others when the base ingredient tastes the same. Another thing to consider is always using the same chocolate for the enrobing and shells, and then to use different chocolates for the fillings.
So - I wouldn't go for a "safe" choice, I'd go for something that gives you a competitive edge over all of the other confectioners in your market.
Hi Mike,
I'm surprised you've got to this stage without knowing what chocolate you're going to use but I'm sure you know what you're doing! If you looking for a safe, mainstream, decent value couverture then the standard ranges from Callebaut or Belcolade are probably the most popular ones. Next level up in terms of quality (and price) would be either the higher-end ranges from these companies or Felchlin, Cluizel or Valrhona.
Good luck,
Nick.
Hello Mike,
Are you planning to only use chocolate couverture or cocoa beans, liquor or butter as well?
Here in the US reliable sources for couverture would be Barry Callebaut, Guittard
Really exciting time as we're shortly due to openour firstchocolate factoryshop in the UK.Now that the reall leg workhas started, we are currently looking at suppliers of raw materials and I was absoluteley astounded by the sheernumber of chocolate and couverturetypes on offer from the various suppliers.A
difficult question to answer as I realise everyone has their own taste in chocolate but is there any such thing as a 'safe' choice for the main chocolate types to use for a retail start up?
From the world famous THE CHOCOLATE ROOM BROOKLYN ...
" Single-Origin Tasting event [was] such a great success! In addition to sampling outstanding single-origin chocolates, we had a fun, and friendly blind taste test of 5 different single-origin chocolates baked into our Flourless Chocolate Cake . The judging was difficult because all competitors have such incredible chocolates, but, in the end, kiXocolatl from Mexicos Yucatan peninsula was voted most delicious."
http://thechocolateroombrooklyn.com/WP-blog/chocboard.php/
Hi Matt. I've used an X3210 for a couple years now with no problems. There are several threads here on The Chocolate Life discussing the Chocovision machines in depth as well as other tempering machines. If you search for X3210 or Delta you should be able to find them.
Has or does anyone use the Chocovision Rev Delta or Chocovision Rev X3210?? Are these machines reliable and do they work as advertised??
