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Post by robchocs1950 on Jul 17, 2013 18:21:16 GMT -5
Hi Everybody,I am a newbie to making chocolate, from bean to bar, I wantto start making chocolate at home small scale, to begin.I have read how to roast the cocoa beans, and found a supplierof cocoa beans on e-bay and Amazon UK.Now, is a ‘Champion Juicer’, really necessary to pre-grind the roasted nibs after the ‘husks’, have been completely removed? I have read some chocolaties, just add the nibs to the wet and dry grinder, then add sugar and milk powder etc, and then conch the chocolate for 12-24hrs. Is there any problems with this method? Making chocolate in the UK, is not so well supported as it in the USA,I have sourced some wet and dry grinders: Premier, 1.5 L. wonder stone grinder, Premier, 2.0 L. table top compact stone wet grinderand the Butterfly, 2.0 L Matchless table tap wet grinder. Will, thesegrinders do the job? I think, these the only grinders available in theUK, on Amazon and e-bay. Any, help would be very much appreciated!Kind regards
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Post by robchocs1950 on Jul 20, 2013 6:03:23 GMT -5
Hi Shrey,
Thanks very much for replying and your recipe.
I really want to make chocolate from roasting the cocoa beans to the chocolate bar! I just wondered if the stone grinders I listed, would do the job? Also, I don't want to buy a 'Champion Juicer' for pre-grinder the roasted nibs, but have heard some people just transfer the nibs straight into the grinder and grind for 12-24hrs. after adding sugar or milk powder etc, until the chocolate is smooth and fine.
Regards Rob.
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Post by cheebs on Jul 20, 2013 14:17:50 GMT -5
You don't need the Champion -- at all.
Disregard the previous poster's recipe... it will NOT make chocolate.
While those grinders may work, they are not modified for chocolate use like the Santha and Ultra. The Premier might work unmodded.
If you get any of the others, make sure you make a lot of extra ventilation holes in the case, and just to be safe, keep a small fan pointed at the motor all the time the grinder is operating.
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Post by lyndon on Jul 20, 2013 14:57:33 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure shrey is some sort of spambot.
I've been using the Premier 1.5 Rob, and it's been working well for me for the last few months. It may be "unmodded" as cheebs says, but it has a fan built in with plenty of air vents already. I'm in the UK too so I know how limited we are in terms of hardware and bean supplies.
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Post by robchocs1950 on Jul 22, 2013 3:10:49 GMT -5
Hi Lyndon,
Thank you for your reply, and much appreciated!
Is there any local store in the UK, where you can purchase the Premier, 1.5 grinder, I know you can buy it online on e-bay/Amazon, UK, and also cocoa beans are available on the e-bay site, at prices that look reasonable.
The 'Champion Juicer', to pre-grind and to extract the cocoa liquor, after roasting and winnowing the cocoa beans, is it necessary? because I have been told that the cocoa nibs can be transferred directly to the grinder for conching and refining. I think this can then take up to 12-24hrs. or longer?
I want to keep the cost of buying equipment hardware down to a minimum, until I find out how successful chocolate making at home can be?
Have you been successful in making your own chocolate at home and is the effort worth it, although, it does look like a interesting hobby!
It's, nice also to talk to a fellow 'brit', because making chocolate here is not very well supported in the UK!!
Kind regards Rob.
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Post by lyndon on Jul 22, 2013 8:25:35 GMT -5
Hey Rob, I was told on here not to bother with the juicer and I have found that advice to be quite correct. Although what I have done is throw the beans in a food processor first to make it easier going on the grinder. 12 hours grinding seems to get it nice and smooth. I've not seen the grinders for sale in any shops, just on ebay/amazon and a couple of other websites. I ended up buying my chocolate bar moulds from france
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Post by robchocs1950 on Jul 22, 2013 14:36:03 GMT -5
Hi Lyndon,
Thanks very much for your kind advice!
So, once the cocoa beans have been roasted and the bean shells removed (husks) the nibs you put in a food processor, do you mind me asking what make of food processor you use, before putting into the grinder? Also, can a regular supply of cocoa beans be bought on e-bay, is this the best place to buy them? Is, homemade chocolate better quality then the shop variety, like Cadbury's etc?
Sorry, for all the questions, but thank you for all your help!
Rob.
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Post by Ben on Jul 23, 2013 11:17:58 GMT -5
You can skip the food processor, if you want. I just slowly add the nibs straight to the melanger.
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Post by donnyg on Jul 23, 2013 11:50:29 GMT -5
Hi, just to be clear about this topic, can you take nibs and add them to the Premier to grind, conch, and refine? Is this a 3 in 1 machine?
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Post by robchocs1950 on Jul 23, 2013 14:09:51 GMT -5
Hi donnyg,
Butterfly Matchless 2Ltr Wet Grinder, this has '3' granite wheels, the Premier grinders have a '2' wheel system.
Regards Rob.
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Post by robchocs1950 on Jul 23, 2013 14:12:59 GMT -5
Hi Ben,
Thanks for your reply, so no food processor, needed.
Kind regards Rob.
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Post by donnyg on Jul 23, 2013 21:36:38 GMT -5
thanks Rob, I've looked up the Butterfly Grinder and found a distributor in Canada. Wondering if anybody else has opinions on the Butterfly Matchless Wet Grinder Vs. Premier Wonder Grinder?
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Post by lyndon on Jul 26, 2013 10:53:09 GMT -5
You don't need to throw the beans in a food processor, I just find it helps speed things up. Maybe I am impatient but I like to just put all the beans in the grinder at once, and you can't do that if they have not been ground up a bit first to make it easier on the stone grinder. I actually use a spice grinder for it at the moment, since I already own one.
I've heard the 3 stone grinder variety (cones instead of wheel shapes) don't work as well, but I can't confirm.
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Post by lilypa on Jul 26, 2013 16:09:07 GMT -5
I agree with Lyndon on this point. I prefer to pre-grind the nibs before putting them into my Spectra 11 melanguer. (I use a Champion Juicer.) You get a nice liquor/paste that takes less time to refine. Plus, this allows you to add your sugar in sooner which also speeds up the overall refining process down to yummy/creamy/smoothness.
I've tried it both ways (nibs straight into the melanguer or pre-ground). And I too am quite impatient with putting the nibs slowly & directly into the melanguer. Note that I'm only making 2-5 lbs batches of chocolate currently.
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Post by robchocs1950 on Jul 27, 2013 2:16:18 GMT -5
Hi,
If, I decide to too pre-grind the roasted cocoa nibs, is their a cheaper alternative to the Champion Juicer?
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