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Post by Thea on Sept 21, 2014 23:12:41 GMT -5
Hey, I really want to start making chocolate but I'm a little too poor for the fancy equipment at the moment. I just wanted to know if it's possible to make chocolate with the beans or nibs without any of the equipment? Or should I start with powder? And if I should start with powder, what kind and where should I get it? If anybody could give me any other tips too that would be great.
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Post by lyndon on Sept 22, 2014 3:57:02 GMT -5
There is actually a fairly successful company who markets their "raw, natural chocolate" process as a unique selling point. They hand grind the nibs and sugar using lava stones, and sell the gritty untempered chocolate blocks as something unique and interesting.
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Post by timwilde on Oct 3, 2014 16:34:47 GMT -5
Lyndon, that sounds like mexican chocolate, just missing the cinnamon Thea, generally speaking you'll need to save up for at least the Santha or Premier Wonder and champion juicer at a bare minimum. You can make due with a hair dryer and large bowl for winnowing and the cracking can be done with the champion. There's a reason the equipment is needed and it's to crush and grind the cocoa solids into the cocoa butter to get to the finished product. There are cheaper and smaller units, one that the Alchemist sells here on the page which is only around $200. For the Champion, these are very popular juicers. If you cant afford a brand new one, you can try shopping on craigslist. I found mine for about $80 locally and it's a true workhorse. Most parts are available through champion so if you get a used one that has bad blades or something you can replace them relatively cheaply. Long and short of it though, without the equipment, you'll be making a very very gritty end product which may or may not be edible when finished. The mexican chocolate sold is usually incredibly gritty, but the idea is you throw it in some warming milk on the stove and whip it while the chocolate melts to make an awesome drink. <Edit> There's also good info here: chocolatealchemy.com/2013/10/03/ask-the-alchemist-51/ The Alchemist suggests that you can just buy nibs and use your oven to roast the nibs, then just use the Premier for the refining. So you can get by with just the one piece of equipment for around $200.
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