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Post by ejahjah on Oct 17, 2016 0:52:19 GMT -5
So I made my first batch of chocolate, I used criollos from Peru, and i made a 45% cocoa. I roasted 1 kg (800grams after winnowing) in the behmour 1600 on the p1 setting, I roasted 800 grams and I wasn't sure how to change the program to extend the time as the max amount is 400grams on the program, so I'm wondering if I've underroasted. Although they smelled like beautiful baked brownies when I stopped roasting, then after cracking and winnowing I conched and refined in the spectra 11 wet grinder for 72 hrs, I was happy with the texture so I tempered and put in moulds, but I did not like the taste it has this tanin aftertaste and the chocolate tastes intense it's hard to describe, not sure why this is the case, it's very frustrating and disheartening, I would really appreciate any input here
thanks Elsie
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Post by Sebastian on Oct 17, 2016 5:28:47 GMT -5
it's probably a result of how the beans were fermented. If so, nothing you can do about that.
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Post by ejahjah on Oct 17, 2016 6:23:59 GMT -5
Hmm ok I'm not sure how they were fermented, is there any other reasons why the chocolate could have tasted that way? I guess I'm trying to work out if there was anything I did to contribute to it
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Post by jasoncacao on Nov 1, 2016 19:43:38 GMT -5
Does the spectra 11 have a lid? If so, when you conched and refined did you keep the lid off?
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Post by ejahjah on Nov 3, 2016 2:56:52 GMT -5
The lid was on the whole time why?
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Post by Sebastian on Nov 3, 2016 5:46:10 GMT -5
The lid won't haver any impact on bitterness or astringency. It can impact acidity (depending on the nature of the acids developed during fermentation/drying) - which can impact sourness. The compounds that create bitterness and astringency (of which tannins are included), are not volatile (meaning they won't evaporate, and thus leaving the lid on won't impact their retention/release).
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Post by timwilde on Dec 27, 2016 15:10:52 GMT -5
The only thing to really do is to go back through and taste the beans as you process them (roast/crack/winoow,etc) Prior to throwing them in the melangeur for grinding. If you have a good bean, you should be able to tolerate the roasted nibs on their own. If you cannot, too bitter, high tannins, astringency, etc the finished chocolate will turn out that way.
You can try again by roasting longer, but that tends to bring out more bitter compounds but it drives off acidity as well. Again, during the grinding process when you get to the point where you're "conching" in the melanguer, leave the lid off some of the volotiles will be driven off during that process which is why the flavor changes some during the conching.
I had that same problem with a criollo I got a few years ago. I made up a batch of chocolate and was not happy with the way it tasted. I thought it was the bean, but it was the roast. I still had a few pounds of it, so I tried again and found the right balance of roast and conch time to balance out that flavor. And ended up with a good chocolate out of what I thought was a bad bean/bad harvest.
The only other thing that you can try to do to "save" the already made batch is to add cocoa butter, which will tend to cut back and tone down the overall flavor, you can try adding sugar as well.
Especially when learning, it's always a good idea to never throw out a batch of chocolate. Aging it can mellow out the flavor some, tempering and allowing proper rest time can balance some flavors out. And you can use it to experiment and learn what went wrong and potentially how to save future batches. It worked for me, your mileage may vary though.
I should add that when tasting beans, tasting/eating the raw or unroasted beans can be bad for you. You're essentially eating live bacteria that fermented the beans. In addition to whatever else the beans came in contact with (wildlife, livestock, unsanitary workers, etc). You can do this, just know the risks involved and it can make you very very ill. I would not recommend it.
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Post by Sebastian on Dec 27, 2016 17:20:04 GMT -5
I should add that when tasting beans, tasting/eating the raw or unroasted beans can be bad for you. You're essentially eating live bacteria that fermented the beans. In addition to whatever else the beans came in contact with (wildlife, livestock, unsanitary workers, etc). You can do this, just know the risks involved and it can make you very very ill. I would not recommend it. This can not be over emphasized. Consuming raw beans WILL result in you getting salmonella or coliform poisoning at some point.
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