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Post by itsallaroundyou on May 21, 2009 12:51:09 GMT -5
can i start roasting and making small batches of chocolate with just these two appliances? for those unfamiliar, the solo star II does what the champion does, but it is a more efficient extractor. i had some chocolate by casa don puglisi, and it was all very unrefined (granular sugar was VERY apparent in the mouthfeel and taste), and tasted really good (though i'd use less sugar). i'd be happy starting off making chocolate, sans melanger, if the taste is still good. i've wanted to make chocolate for longer than i can remember, but until i found this site, thought that it was impossible to do in the home.....so THANKS for hosting this site and to all that contribute to it
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Post by kellymon on May 24, 2009 17:38:01 GMT -5
Hi, welcome to the group I started with making chocolate very small, and only purchased new equipment as the process seemed to prove it's self possible. A few pounds of cacao bean roasted in the oven..... cracked with a board and a plastic bag......winnowed with a fan.... ground with a food processor and then a mortar and pestle...... I mean, except for the food processor that's pretty much how it was made for centuries right? Ok, I admit.... it was a little crunchy with sugar that wasn't quite fine enough, and a few husks here and there..... But it was pretty good, and led to better things. So why worry about it, give it a try and see peace, robert
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Post by Brad on May 25, 2009 3:13:46 GMT -5
The most important thing to remember, is that even when it's bad, it's still chocolate, so how bad can it really be?
When in doubt, make it into brownies!
Peace X 2
Brad.
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Post by itsallaroundyou on May 26, 2009 11:00:54 GMT -5
thanks guys.....i think i will go ahead with it (i probably would have anyway so i guess my next question is---which beans do i start with? keep in mind i like DARK (as in 80% dark) chocolate. i assume a pound or two will suffice for a couple trial batches. thanks again, mike
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Post by Brad on May 26, 2009 16:29:04 GMT -5
Which beans?
I would have to say that all of the beans which John sells here would work for you. The ones I've tried have all been good.
Once you get to a point where you're refining is better, then worry about what is what.
For now, I'd just suggest that you play around and get a feel for it, and not worry so much about the finer flavours.
Brad.
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Post by Alchemist on May 26, 2009 16:35:34 GMT -5
Mike,
The oven is fine, although you have to watch out for uneven roasting. The solostar II - I don't have any direct experience with it, but I don't think it will work for cocoa beans or nibs. Here's a quote from a site:
"SoloStar's low-speed auger gently crushes and squeezes produce. Because juice is not heated and mixed with oxygen in the process, the fragile vitamins, nutrients, and enzymes are preserved. Conventional high-speed juicers violently "fling" the juice around, heat it with blade and basket friction, may damage much of the nutrients and live enzymes, and may compromise the fragile taste of the juice. SoloStar delivers all the natural goodness and superior flavor you demand from a top quality juicer."
The "gentle" and "not heated" is what I think the major stumbling block is going to be. You have to break open cells to release cocoa butter, and that butter has to be warm enough to flow. Otherwise you get a solid mass. It may be a great selling point for vegetation juicing, but this is nut grinding and that takes energy and heat in my experience.
But, if you have one, give it a try and report back. But do it gently. I would to see you kill the motor or jamb it up. Oh, I also saw that it is only 180 W of power. That is about 1/6 hp. The Champion is a 1/3 hp, and can stall if you push it too hard. Asking the same of a machine with 1/2 the power might be asking for a lot. Just keep all that in mind.
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Post by itsallaroundyou on May 26, 2009 17:29:02 GMT -5
thanks for the feedback....i went ahead and ordered 2 pounds of the Peruvian Cocoa FT/Org- '09. i was encouraged by the solo star II's ability because one of the selling points was that it could be used to make nut butters....maybe i will try to peel some of the roasted beans by hand and run them through and see how that goes.....how hot does the juicer need to get to work for this? oh and one cool thing about the solo star is that its got a reverse button in case it gets jammed, so that shouldn't be a worry (if it is i'm still covered under the 5 year warranty ) -mike
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Post by itsallaroundyou on May 26, 2009 17:32:11 GMT -5
oh, and just read that the solo star II is rated at 1/4 hp, but is the equivalent of 4 hp with gear reductions.....is it true? who knows, but i guess i'll find out if that's true once i get my beans here's where i read it: www.discountjuicers.com/compare2.html
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Post by Alchemist on May 26, 2009 22:40:39 GMT -5
I see the 1/4 hp listing. Certainly not the rating I saw. I also see it says it does nut butters which is one of my litmus tests for a juicer, so you do stand a chance. As for the 1/4 to 4 hp - that is a little bending of the truth. I get what they are saying, but it is a little misleading to me.
There is no reason cocoa beans should void the warranty, so have fun and report back. I am all for more equipment that is up to the job.
And generally, you just need the cocoa liqueur to be around 100-105 F. Enough so the cocoa butter flows.
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Post by itsallaroundyou on May 29, 2009 15:42:28 GMT -5
beans are already here! talk about instant gratification will try some out this weekend and let you know how the juicer works thanks, mike
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Post by FeralOne on May 30, 2009 15:48:00 GMT -5
Yeah, John is really good about shipping things out quickly. The Peruvian beans are wonderful, but a little touchy to roast. I hold the opinion that the Ghana is a really good one to start with as it is very easy to roast. You just pop them in the oven and wait for that brownie smell. I can't give any advice on the juicer, I started with a Santha and never used a juicer. Have fun! Andrea
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Post by itsallaroundyou on May 31, 2009 13:26:56 GMT -5
well, i made my first mini batch of chocolate with a sample of some papua new guinea beans.... i roasted them in my hottop b, though was unsure about my target temp/profile, so i preheated it to about 250F, dumped the beans in, and ran damage control to keep the temp from going over 325. the whole roast was about 16 minutes. in about 3 mins one bean popped (it was approaching 300F fast), so i took that to be too high a temp, and dropped it to around 250-275, and let it slowly come back up to 300. the baking brownie smell came pretty fast, and i would say that by the time i dumped them, the smell was bordering on burnt (though these beans have a smokey smell to begin with). the beans went through another phase of crackling, and i let it go, since i think that is supposed to happen when they are near done. another reason to not use the hottop for this is because the cocoa beans clog the eject port and you can't get the beans out very effectively. i'll probably use the oven next time. in the behmor, do you put the beans in with the machine cold, and let it come up to temp? or is there a preheat cycles on it? am i supposed to just maintain the temp at about 300 the whole time? i'm still a bit confused how the roasting temp translates from oven roasting to coffee roaster roasting. since the batch was so small, my girlfriend and i de-shelled the beans by hand. the solo star II worked like a champ on the nibs.....with a little help.....i preheated the auger and housing with a hair drier, then kept the drier on it during most of the grinding. the extraction was textbook perfect. for this batch i only added sugar, about 25%, mixed by hand (i don't have a melanger, and didn't want to get into tempering just yet). chocolate flavor is nutty/smokey, definitely piquant, as the label states. since i have no reference, how would i know if i went too long/hot or too short/cold on the roast? i've wanted to make chocolate for a really long time, and this first tiny success pretty much seals the deal that i will continue making for a long time now.....who's selling a heavily discounted melanger?
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Post by cheebs on Jul 22, 2009 8:52:07 GMT -5
What exactly is it you agree with? Or are you just trying to be a clever spammer with the links that appear?
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