eg
Neophyte
Posts: 47
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Post by eg on Dec 28, 2014 13:11:32 GMT -5
Hi there,
Is there anyone here who can share experience scaling up a business from the smallest equipment setup possible? And if so, do you have recommendations on the most basic setup?
I'm another chocolate lover looking to explore the feasibility of starting my own craft bean to bar business. I want to invest in a small melanger to get started with learning how to make chocolate. It seems my options are the Spectra 11, Premier wonder grinder, or perhaps the smallest cocoatown melanger. I'm curious about the production capacity of these three machines, and how they might compare with the ability to scale up to sell in small quantities. Would one of these make more sense as a long-term investment? Would one make more sense in terms of production capacity, because it's more durable, or perhaps because it processes chocolate batches faster? I think they each do no more than 10 pounds at a time, so it seems that 80 or so 2-oz bars in one batch would be the most that could be produced right?
Thank you - enjoying all of the experience and knowledge that is shared here.
-eg
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Post by Ben on Dec 29, 2014 11:52:56 GMT -5
Hello,
There really isn't an overwhelming standout in those three machines. There are a lot of discussions here on Chocolate Alchemy as well as over on The Chocolate Life about all three with opinions and experiences from several different people. If you read through those, you should get a good idea of the positives and negatives of each and be able to make a better decision.
The Santha and the Cocoatown each top out around 8 lbs. The 1.5L premier can do about 6 lbs in my experience (although, I'd assume the 2L premier would be able to do 8). They're all pretty comparable in terms of durability. I used to have 3 of the previous model of Cocoatown (the Deluxe or ECGC-12) and was very happy with them. I ran them for a couple years with very few problems (other than the normal issues discussed in various discussions--specifically the belts and the bushings in the stones). I now have a couple Premiers that I use for test batches. The premier is a lot less expensive than the other two, though, so you could probably get two of them for the price of one of the others.
One thing to note is that none of them are really designed for chocolate, and so are going to wear out over time. If you get a couple years of heavy use out of any of them, you're doing pretty well.
-Ben
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eg
Neophyte
Posts: 47
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Post by eg on Dec 29, 2014 16:11:31 GMT -5
Thank you Ben! After reading through as much as I could here I've come to that conclusion myself. I think I will start with the Premier 2L.
I'm really curious to hear about the production cycle at such a small scale. Would someone who has just 1-3 of these small grinders in operation typically make a monthly or twice-monthly batch? It seems that it would be really hard to produce at a volume that would underwrite the cost of growing with just this machine, but maybe I'm wrong.
The premier (or these other machines) seems like a great option for learning the process and developing your own flavor preferences.
E
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Post by Ben on Dec 29, 2014 18:13:26 GMT -5
When I was using the Cocoatowns, I was often making two+ batches per week in each melanger.
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Post by eanbean on Dec 29, 2014 22:12:21 GMT -5
Ben's experience of having more than one batch per week per melanger is common. I run mine full time batch after batch on the Premier Wonder Grinder, as has the Alchemist. They are wonderful small work horses. The Premier Wonder Grinder has had changes made to the machine to accommodate the longer run times and other requirements needed for making chocolate with these machines. I like them so much, I no longer use my CocoaTown and Santha machines. When being careful about adding nibs slowly, you can get more chocolate out of the Grinders. I've been able to get 9 pounds of chocolate out of the Premier 2L Tilting Grinder. The nice thing about the small investment of the Premier Grinders is that it's easy to double (and more) your scale as you have sales to support the growth. I like the Premier Grinders so much, that I know sell them (and the Alchemist is not selling them due to a conflict of interest but still loves this little machines). If you are interested in buying the Grinder, I have them for sale on my website at indichocolate.com/collections/chocolate-making-machines. The prices include shipping within the US. Let me know if you have other questions, etc.
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Post by Ben on Dec 30, 2014 9:34:56 GMT -5
I found issues with the chocolate working its way up the center column and then coming out under the bowl when I went over about 6 lbs in one of my 1.5L premiers. It was a big mess. Also, I don't believe they've been modified for use with chocolate--it's just that they were already capable of doing so.
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