Forum Activity for @Sebastian

John - what's your business called?  It sounds like you're not far from me at all..

Hey John,

You can get bags like these:

http://www.4imprint.com/search/thermal/product/106542/Therm-O-Tote-Insulated-Grocery-Bag

Maybe you could do a deposit system so that people can bring them back so you're not just giving away loads of bags. Alternatively, you can always just charge them for a bag. Manoa in Hawaii gives you a bag like this if you order over a certain amount of bars.

That sounds great. We would be interested for sure. Our best form of comunication at the moment is by email info@starchildchocolate.com but would love to talk to you more.

 Hello All.  Sorry for posting my previous post in the wrong forum  - (should have gone into tip & tricks).  Still getting used to the new site!  I may have an opportunity to sell my chocolate in a local Tea Room where they serve tea and gourmet sandwiches.  Any thoughts as to pairing chocolate with tea?  The only pairing that  I currently make is a tea & honey truffle.  Thanks for the help, John 

Hello All.  I posted this in the wrong forum and I'm not sure how to "Move" it, so I'm re-posting here - still getting familiar with the new site.

In order to keep selling chocolate in the summer, I'm looking for a way to keep the chocolate from melting when customers transport it a short distance to their house (90 degree f in Philadelphia).  Any suggestions for relatively easy and inexpensive ways to do this?  Thanks for the help, John

Well we're going to start bringing in containers - we can produce 110MT per year.

Thanks for the response, We would be looking for a much larger volume than what is available on your site there.

Hello All.  This will be my second summer in business and last summer I pretty much discontinued my chocolate sales (I sell ice cream also).  I'd like to keep making / selling throughout the summer but I'm not sure how to ensure that my customers can get the chocolate home, without melting.  I live in Philadelphia and the temperatures stay in the 90's (f) for much of the summer.  Is there a relatively easy and inexpensive way to transport chocolate for small distances during hot summer months?  Thanks for the help, John

We have Guatemala beans for sale on our site onlinecacao.com

We will also have new beans from our own farm in Rio Dulce coming soon!

The James Cooper PLC is turning the shells of cocoa beans into paper

http://www.cropper.com/news/post.php?s=2014-01-17-sweet-innovation-as-cocoa-waste-is-transformed 

Wide - perhaps - not sure about wise 8-)  Certainly it could be used for fertilizer.  I'm not sure how much nitrogen or phosphorous it has, but shells do have a fair amount of potassium in them.

which is the chronological order and how often each ingredient placed?

you can use it as fertilizer on land?

Thanks Sebastian, you are very wise!

What to do with the shell?  Mulch (but it will attract bugs).  Burn it?

Absolutely do NOT use it for anything edible.  Shell is notoriously high in heavy metals and mycotoxins and all sorts of stuff that you don't want to eat.

I roasted cocoa beans and many have already separated from the seed husk. that I can do with it?

I have received three boxes of zChocolat's beautiful confections now and I have enjoyed every one (although not every chocolate in each box).  The ganache is always perfect and there are finely ground pieces of nuts in many of the chocolates that create a delicate crunch.  Just wondering if anyone else has had experiences with zChocolat and what your thoughts are?  I love the signature 'Z' chocolate so much I want to order a whole box of just that and forget all the other flavours (my Canadian palate still can't get used to lavender in chocolate - blah!). This is my most recent post about zChocolat's Mother's Day box - they sent it to me last week: http://ultimatechocolateblog.blogspot.ca/2015/04/zchocolat-will-help-you-say-i-love-you.html  I was amazed that it was so well packed that the ice pack was still cold when I received it 5 days after they sent the package from France to Canada (and a 7-hour drive north of Toronto).  Anyway, let me know what you think! I am curious about experiences that other people have had.

Anybody know of a source for a quality organic bean from Guatemala? I have had four people in the past week ask us for Guatemalan chocolate and we have yet to find a good source. Thanks

Is it fat migration from the peanut butter?

Is your center cold? that might explain the bloom and the collapse? warm it up a bit maybe that'll help?

thanks for the advice, but I think that the first machine is very small and the second very large, hehe, I hope to hear from someone who use the machine I was suggesting

hello Gap,

thanks for the advice, but I think that the first machine is very pequenia and the secondvery large, hehe, I hope to hear from someone who use the machine I was suggesting

Check out my Piecaken blog for instructions and the recipes you need to make this extravagant dessert. With an upfront rum flavour that slowly melts away as the chocolate and maple flavours take over, this dessert is a show-stopper. It's not gluten free, it's not butter-free and it's certainly not delicious-free.  http://piecaken.blogspot.ca/2015/04/pecanpiecaken-pecan-pie-inside-maple.html

 Maple Pecan Chocolate Glaze.JPG.jpg - 424KB

Here is another quote from Mark in another thread:

06/17/14 12:00:03PM  @Mark-Allan :

The screw press is not as effective as the conventional butter press. A bit, maybe 20%, of the solid is still in the butter. It's not cost effective for someone in the USA to use, because your beans are so expensive there. However here in Honduras, where they don't even sell cocoa butter, it's the cheapest way to enable bean to bar. It's also more time consuming, requiring about an hour of hands on labor, to make 2 kg of butter. On the bright side, you don't feed this machine heated chocolate liqueur as you would a butter press, you just feed it room temperature cocoa nibs.

A local machinist wanted $700 to make a conventional butter press powered by a hydraulic car jack, but he had never made that type of machine before, so it was risky.

The screw press machine itself, ordered from Alibaba, was delivered to me for a total of $230.

- See more at: https://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/group_discuss/955/new-to-the-chocolate-life#sthash.tSfrrXML.dpuf

This is a post from this link: https://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/group_discuss/966/longlasting-machines

07/08/14 09:49:22AM  @Mark-Allan :

Good morning again,

This is the press I bought:

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/High-quality-DL-ZYJ02-Traditi...

If you end up getting it, let me know and I can give you some operating tips that will save you time. Also, let the heating element warm up the drive shaft for a good 10 minutes and your output will be much more pure. I found that out on my last run. I tend to grind out enough for 3-4 batches of chocolate at once so that I don't have to run and clean the machine that often.

If I were going for higher output than 1-2kg/hour, I would look at this one:

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/New-Condition-and-Cold-Hot-Pressing_1922574051.html

I have used the machine in the first link a few times and I think it looks similar to yours. I've had similar experience to what Mark mentions above but have only used it a few times. Maybe Mark can chime in or your can send him a message through Chocolate Life for more information.

 It is worth adding you wont get pure cocoa butter. There will be some cocoa solids left in it and it will be black (not clear/yellowish colour). But it can be used to make chocolate.

these Chinese machines are good extraction of cocoa butter?

 Automatic_Stainless_steel_small_home_peanut_oil.jpg - 129KB

Kind of like bankers and lawyers today.....  Oh...and real estate sales people, and credit card companies.... Haha!

I think 500 to 500 mesh powder should be fine with icecream.

As far as the hammer mill, find the one that has the largest screen as possible.  It is critical to mix with lots of air during grinding process to keep the powder form getting hot and melt inside the mill.  Perhaps mix the feed with dryice could keep it from melting during grinding.

Just curious if these mini enrobers are ever seen used for sale out there by anyone...I've been looking forever and never seem to run across any.  Any small enrobers for that matter.  Thoughts?

I can make the cocoa beans taste like almost anything, depending on how they're grown, fermented, and dried.  Best thing to do is get a sample and taste them to see how that particular grower's beans taste.

I've just recived an email with this:

http://www.unionmachinery.com/Product.asp?Number=78136

Glad it was helpful - good luck!

The competition will be accepting submissions until April 24. Judging will be held in the New York City area shortly thereafter. For information on eligibility, how to enter the competition and critical dates. visit the International Chocolate Awards website .  The competition admission fee is USD $65 plus USD $40 for each entry.

And this year there are new categories for micro-batch chocolate makers. The categories were added to recognize the leading role that the U.S. craft chocolate scene has played in this world-wide movement.

The Americas Competition is one of 11 competitions taking place in 2015, with other regional rounds for France, Italy/Mediterranean, Belgium, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

The World's Final judging will be in London in October.

Maricel Presilla, the awards co-founder and grand jury member, says in the four years since starting the Americas competition, the number of entries has continued to grow in number and quality. "The competition showcases the widespread revolutionary changes that have transformed the chocolate industry in the last two decades," Presilla says.

Judging for the Americas round takes place in NYC on April 28th and 29th. If would like to be considered to be a judge, please go to the judge registration page for more information and to sign up.

 international-chocolate-awards_422x2811.png - 69KB

Hi there, were you able to find the enrober you were looking for? I've been looking for over a year now and can't find one reasonably priced.  Was just curious.  Can't believe the prices of these things. 

Hi Sebastian,

thanks for the info. on tasting the different coloured beans i was getting the flavours exactly as you describe. I have made a few batches, and have been pretty happy with the outcomes so far, so with that in mind, and the fact that i am just starting out so very small productions at the moment i will just carry on, using your advice. However as demand seems to be growing i may have a bit more leverage with my supplier to do like you suggest and send a small test batch before I bulk buy.

Thanks for the help

Lightly sweetened, indulgently buttery. This cake has just enough sea salt to give you that 'salted caramel' taste. With home-roasted pecans and a caramel-ganache, it is the perfect dessert for any kind of chocolate lover: http://ultimatelychocolatecakes.blogspot.ca/2015/04/sea-salted-butter-pecan-caramel.html  Oh, and it's flourless too!

 Butter Pecan Caramel Chocolate Cake (2).JPG.jpg - 117KB

I am usung a 1/2 shell mold . Dollop of jelly then peanut butter ganache. I've been making them for 3 years now & suddenly the top where the jelly is collaspes in . also the face/inside curve of the shell starts to bloom. I do other chocolates in the same mold but no bloom. This bloom is also happening on the sides of a fleur d lis mold I use.

That is really great to hear! Way to go on selling & getting things rolling.

It's been awhile since this was updated. I was able to find a quality supplier of cocoa, one with properly fermented beans. I have been selling 70% dark bars, amont many other chocolate covered things, for about eight months now. I also bought a cocoa pulverizer that hits about 24000 RPM's. Machine costs about $200. It does a good job of making the powder fine, but it lacks a screen so some of the particles don't get as fine as I would like them. The local dairy is going to try the powder tomorrow.

I've also cracked the recipe/code of a very popular, fairly expensive, brownie mix maker. That is how I've been getting rid of the coarser cocoa powder so far and the brownie mix is selling well.

It should help, but it'll still take a long time. Making the room cooler, or pointing an a/c unit at the tank would help, too. Adding seed or tabling would be much quicker, though.

Hi ben, no it does have any active cooling. And I think there are just heating wire wrapping under the tank. Ok will try to see if it works. Thank you 

Hey Ruth, just wanted to let you know that I spoke with Decagon on the phone this morning after chatting with Kerry on egullet about them selling refurbished/used units and doesn't sound like they do that anymore unfortunately, so I'm guessing the best way to find one used is to continue to search for them on Craigslist/ebay.  The quote I got from Decagon for the paWkit was $1998 for the unit, then $388 in accessories.  They do offer a payment plan though, where you put 20% down, then pay the balance over the next 9 months interest free.  Something to think about @elephant if it's something you're serious about.  I'm definitely going to keep looking for a used unit, but if I can't find one by the time I set up shop then I might consider taking advantage of the payment plan option.