Post by dublinguy on Apr 20, 2015 5:08:42 GMT -5
Hi,
I've been making chocolate for a little less than a year now, and this is the first time I come across this issue.
I use Robson's estate cocoa beans from Trinidad and Tobago (Trinatario). Here's some detail about how I proceeded:
- Roasting: pre-heated at 160C for 10 mins, then roasted 12 mins at 145C, then 20 mins at 140C. I tasted the beans several times during the roasting process. I roasted about 2-3 pounds.
- Cracking: Used Champion juicer.
- Winnowing: Used a hairdryer. Took me longer than anticipated, but I managed to remove lots of shells (although there were quite a few left). I let the nibs rest for 36 hours (in a covered glass dish).
- Grinding: Used the champion juicer again. It was a bit harder than usual to get started. I also noticed that at the very beginning a lot of dust was deposited in the bowl meant to receive the liquor (I removed it before the liquor came out). Also quite a bit of liquor came out of the "waste" end together with broken shells, and I had to reprocess it multiple times through the champion (I wonder if somehow I may have grinded the shells into the liquor?). Anyway, I managed to turn the initial 611 grams of nibs into 470 grams of liquor (poor ratio which leads me to think I may have not done such a great job at winnowing).
The liquor at this stage felt quite thick (even heated to 40C), and had some visible grainy bits (some quite dark).
I decided to use some of the liquor (260 grams) together with added cocoa butter (49 grams) and pre-powdered sugar (60 grams).
- Refining: I don't have a refiner/melangeur yet, but I have been able to produce a good quality chocolate so far by processing small batches in my magic bullet, with sugar I pre-powder very finely previously. It does not conche at all, but the results is generally quite refined. Well, this time, since the liquor is already quite thick, the addition of sugar makes it even thicker. With addition of some cocoa butter, I managed to create a much more fluid liquor and a decent level of fineness (but with similar particles as when the liquor just came out of the champion).
- Tempering: Melted 3/4 pound to about 50C and used the tabling method to create the seed crystals, slowly cooled to 28C and slowly reheated to 32C. I got pretty good at this over time.
-Moulding: I used polycarbonate moulds (80 grams each), let the chocolate set at room temp and put it in the fridge for 30 mins.
The result is a shiny, snappy chocolate (does not melt when you handle it), however the inside is quite dry and even a bit chalky. I noticed that if I let the chocolate "rest" on my counter for a couple of days, it gets a bit better (smoother, less dry/chalky). The taste isn't bad at all, but it leaves your mouth very dry which takes away from the experience. As mentioned before, this is the first time I've encountered this issue (all other types of cocoa beans produced a smooth chocolate before, using this process).
Any idea what it could be? Did I over-roast the bean (are they too dry)? Is it the type of bean that creates this? Or maybe I did a poor job at winnowing? Or over-processed the beans in the champion?
help appreciated!
I've been making chocolate for a little less than a year now, and this is the first time I come across this issue.
I use Robson's estate cocoa beans from Trinidad and Tobago (Trinatario). Here's some detail about how I proceeded:
- Roasting: pre-heated at 160C for 10 mins, then roasted 12 mins at 145C, then 20 mins at 140C. I tasted the beans several times during the roasting process. I roasted about 2-3 pounds.
- Cracking: Used Champion juicer.
- Winnowing: Used a hairdryer. Took me longer than anticipated, but I managed to remove lots of shells (although there were quite a few left). I let the nibs rest for 36 hours (in a covered glass dish).
- Grinding: Used the champion juicer again. It was a bit harder than usual to get started. I also noticed that at the very beginning a lot of dust was deposited in the bowl meant to receive the liquor (I removed it before the liquor came out). Also quite a bit of liquor came out of the "waste" end together with broken shells, and I had to reprocess it multiple times through the champion (I wonder if somehow I may have grinded the shells into the liquor?). Anyway, I managed to turn the initial 611 grams of nibs into 470 grams of liquor (poor ratio which leads me to think I may have not done such a great job at winnowing).
The liquor at this stage felt quite thick (even heated to 40C), and had some visible grainy bits (some quite dark).
I decided to use some of the liquor (260 grams) together with added cocoa butter (49 grams) and pre-powdered sugar (60 grams).
- Refining: I don't have a refiner/melangeur yet, but I have been able to produce a good quality chocolate so far by processing small batches in my magic bullet, with sugar I pre-powder very finely previously. It does not conche at all, but the results is generally quite refined. Well, this time, since the liquor is already quite thick, the addition of sugar makes it even thicker. With addition of some cocoa butter, I managed to create a much more fluid liquor and a decent level of fineness (but with similar particles as when the liquor just came out of the champion).
- Tempering: Melted 3/4 pound to about 50C and used the tabling method to create the seed crystals, slowly cooled to 28C and slowly reheated to 32C. I got pretty good at this over time.
-Moulding: I used polycarbonate moulds (80 grams each), let the chocolate set at room temp and put it in the fridge for 30 mins.
The result is a shiny, snappy chocolate (does not melt when you handle it), however the inside is quite dry and even a bit chalky. I noticed that if I let the chocolate "rest" on my counter for a couple of days, it gets a bit better (smoother, less dry/chalky). The taste isn't bad at all, but it leaves your mouth very dry which takes away from the experience. As mentioned before, this is the first time I've encountered this issue (all other types of cocoa beans produced a smooth chocolate before, using this process).
Any idea what it could be? Did I over-roast the bean (are they too dry)? Is it the type of bean that creates this? Or maybe I did a poor job at winnowing? Or over-processed the beans in the champion?
help appreciated!