Seeking answers….
Posted in:
Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
Mack -
What Sebastian is referring to is the fact that even if the package says it's "raw" the chances are exceedingly high that at some point between the time the pod is harvested and the paste is finished, that the cacao has been subjected to temperatures exceeding (104F, 110F, 118F - pick your max temp as there is not universal agreement) for an extended period of time. One place that's suspect that is usually not checked is the instantaneous shear temperature under the grinding mechanism.
One area Sebastian is alluding to is that "raw" chocolate almost certainly has a much heavier microbial load due to the fact that it's never been subjected to temperatures that can kill micro-organisms that have the potential to make people really sick.
Here is one of the more popular articles on raw cacao on TheChocolateLife. The author, Ben Ripple, of Big Tree Farms, is a supplier of "raw" cacao.
You should not expect to purchase raw cacao from a farmer directly. Prices are high(er) because this is a niche market and that will automatically lead to higher prices.
Simplest kind of wrapping is flow-wrap. A decent machine will cost at least $20k. If you want to wrap with foil - then it will cost a lot more. Even if you buy a good used machine for cheap, making it work in production can cost thousands.
Finally, there is no such thing as Criollo Arriba - at least in the sense that you're using high-quality Criollo beans. Arriba is a name given to the typical flavor of Nacional beans from Ecuador. Nacional is a member of the Upper Amazon Forastero grouping. However, if the seller means "criollo" in the linguistic sense - it's Spanish for local, as in comida tipica y criolla, typical native food - then all that means is Arriba beans that are grown here (presumably Ecuador).
.
