"Cocoa" in Forum Topics

Hand temper Dark chocolate couverture by Callebaut 54.5% cocoa

10/25/14 01:02:25, by Arti Jain

I am using Callebaut Dark Chocolate for tempering by hand.It's my first attempt ,as mentioned on the package I heated and cooled and then reheated the chocolate.but next day there were white streaks on the tempered chocolate what could be the reason for that?What do I do to get perfect tempered chocolate by hand ?Thanx.Arti.

How can I make airbrushing cocoa butter in molds more efficient and foolproof

06/24/16 07:17:16, by Daniel Herskovic

I am a professional chocolatier; however, I really struggle with airbrushed molded bon bons. I do mostly enrobed confections, but I need a few really pretty molded pieces to balance things out. This morning I was fighting with our airbrush. It sprayed cocoa butter for the first mold or two and then it would not cooperate after that. I took it apart. I heat gunned it. I shook it. I prayed over it. I heat gunned it again.  It just would not spray! I have a Paasche airbrush. It is a simple one....

Cocoa Town Melanger - Sugar sticking to granite grinders

07/17/11 12:32:52, by Crucial Jade

Hello!I Have been using a Cocoa Town Melanger for a few months now, to produce cacao paste and grind coconut sugar with chocolate. I am having issues with the sugar sicking to the stone grinders. Does anyone have any experience & suggestions as to why this is occurring?The strange fact is that my machine was producing perfect chocolate for about 2 weeks and then the sugar started sticking to the granite grinders. I have not changed any aspect of the way I am processing the chocolate. I...

Unfair Trade in Belize - How Kraft Shafts Cocoa Farmers

03/04/10 16:06:26, by Clay Gordon

FAQ: Do Fair Trade certified cacao farmers reliably earn more money than cacao farmers who are not Fair Trade Certified and reliably benefit from increased world market prices?Answer: Probably not.What? How can this be? A hint at the true nature of how "fair" Fair Trade is can be found in the FAQ on the TransFair USA web site. Many people believe that Fair Trade benefits farmers directly. However, you have to go to the Advanced FAQs page to learn that individual farmers don't benefit...

Precision Control Help! Cocoa Butter To Reduce Chocolate Viscosity...

02/28/17 16:24:01, by JesNES

Hello fellow chocolatiers! This is my first post here at this amazing website (which I've used to garner information from delving into prior forum posts a great many a time). Seeing as I had a somewhat specific question for which I couldn't find an adequate answer, I've decided to ask you, the experts, directly!Here's the deal: My buddy and I, we like to hand-dip pretzels into chocolate which is tempered using a Chocovision Tempering Unit. We track data on the pretzels in order to learn about...

Help Finding Lead & Cadmium Free (Purified) Cocoa Powder

11/13/16 10:49:31, by bobd94109

Does anyone know of any source of lead & cadmium free chocolate products?  Please Help!  I'm particularly interested in contaminant free unsweetened cocoa powder.  Any referrals to anyone that might know more about this particular topic area?

Researchers claim novel method to boost polyphenol levels in cocoa products

05/20/10 07:52:33, by Alpha Fred

A wet heat treatment process that avoids thecocoa fermentation and roasting steps produces polyphenol-rich cocoapowder, claims a Spanish study.(the article below is extracted from the above link).The authors of a study, published in Food Research International,maintain that the health benefits of cocoapolyphenols as reported in recent studies have increased the interestin obtaining products from cocoa beans not only with high polyphenol,but also with a high flavan-3-ol content.They report...

Best White Choc. for Hand-rolled Truffles/Effects of Cocoa Butter Content on Viscosity

02/14/10 14:24:16, by Jennifer Meyer

Sorry for the long title but these two topics seem to go hand-in-hand. I was reading a discussion at another site about firming up a white chocolate ganache recipe. Someone responded that it's best to use a white chocolate with the highest amount of cocoa butter to get the firmest ganache. This seems to make sense, however...At the Callebaut site, their chocolate is rated by drops according to viscosity. The more drops, the more fluid the chocolate. When I compare the white chocolate, it...

Sharing: Podcast episode about current cocoa surplus. Article about chocolate made at...

03/10/17 15:53:31, by The Slow Melt

Hello all, I wanted to share the latest episode of The Slow Melt - the only podcast focused on the full story of chocolate. The majority of chocolate we know and love - 70 percent - comes from West Africa, and in the last few weeks, the price these farmers receive for their cocoa has plummeted to historic lows. We decided to wedge this program into our podcast schedule to make clear this is NO cause for celebration - and to help everyone who loves chocolate understand the economics behind...

Supplier of organic cocoa beans, nibs and powder in small...

08/02/14 04:23:59, by Samson

Hi!I'm Samson from Tbilisi/Georgia. I'm new here, need a help of experienced people. :)Planning to start a small shop selling organic raw cocoa beans, nibs, cocoa powder. But the problem is that Georgia (Republic of) it's a South Caucasus region)) is very far from cocoa origin countries, so we have a problem with source and transportation.Can anybody recommend who can supply me with cocoa raw organic beans, nibs and cocoa powder in small quantities (100-150 kg. approximately)? May be directly...

Madame Cocoa's Adventures in Paris - Top Paris Chocolate Spots

03/26/09 10:27:00, by Clay Gordon

Madame Cocoa posted a lovely album of photos taken in Paris in September 2008.There are some very lovely photos that remind me of my last trip there, but only a few of the photos are identifiable. SO - let's play a game of "Tag The Photos" and all ChocolateLife members are invited to play.At the same time, let's compile a list of top chocolate spots in Paris. I will start out with some of mine.Chocolate Shops#1 - a l'Etoile d'Or - Best chocolate store in Paris selling many...