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Post by chocolatemountain on Oct 15, 2009 23:04:16 GMT -5
Hi, I know that there are many different kinds of cocoa beans and they come from different places, but what kind is the best to make normal chocolate? For example milk chocolate or dark chocolate?
Thanks for your advice,
Chocolate Mountain
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Post by Brad on Oct 15, 2009 23:42:06 GMT -5
Mr Mountain; The answer to your question may sound rather nebulous, but it is what it is.... Every cocoa bean portrays a different flavour, so it all depends on what you prefer to taste in "normal" chocolate. What do you consider "normal"? Should there be fruity notes? Should the chocolate be earthy? Should the chocolate have a toasted nut type of flavour? Every manufacturer creates different chocolate, and in fact I can create different chocolate with the same beans, just by varying the roast and refine time. In the past 4 years, I've had occasion to sample cocoa beans from all over the world - both criollo and forastero - and there's really no consistency, except that most of the finer quality beans have some type of fruity note. In my current inventory I've got forastero from Brazil that's fruitier than the fine quality Ocumare Criollo I have. So... as you can see, the best starting point is to define what you consider to be "normal" tasting chocolate, and then find a bean that fits that profile, or at the very least find a bean that can be roasted to that profile. Once the baseline is set, then you may get more specific answers. Hope this helps. Brad www.SoChoklat.com
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Post by FeralOne on Oct 16, 2009 10:12:03 GMT -5
I'm just going to add on to what Brad has already told you.
If you are just starting to make chocolate, I suggest buying the Ghana from John. The reason is that they are super easy to roast, they conche well and they winnow easily. They have a very flat flavor, like most of the chocolate you have tasted, but if you end up conching for a short time or for a long time the flavor doesn't change drastically like other beans. When it comes to using a Santha or an Ultra, the refining and conching happens all at the same time. The problem with this is that you can over conche; if the beans have not refined all the way but the conching is done the flavor starts to get bad. So you can get stuck with either good tasting with bad texture or good texture with bad flavor.
John sells a good variety of beans, buy a few pounds of each region and see what you like.
Andrea
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Post by redstar on Oct 16, 2009 11:37:10 GMT -5
John does a good "starter" kit of a selection of beans, which you can specify. I think it is called the "Apprentice" kit.
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Post by tony on Sept 16, 2010 3:37:36 GMT -5
Source of Beans...
Well Ive just arrived back from Madagascar, Sambriano Valley and can tell you that as far as Madagascan cacao is concerned, the beans are mixed at source. Criolo, Forestero and Trinitario. I guess in the americas where there is perhaps some sort of 'order' it might be possible to get a dedicated consignment of beans but from what I saw.... It just doesnt work like that. I hope to be posting some pictures of the trip on the internet soon (if someone can tell me how to reference them to this site?) but none the less the trip was awsome though NOT SAFE and one really has to watch your back and your bags when doing these types of trips....
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Post by jcandy on Dec 28, 2010 4:33:58 GMT -5
Cocoa bean portrays a different flavor. They have a very flat flavor, like most of the chocolate you have tasted, but if you end up couching for a short time or for a long time the flavor doesn't change drastically like other beans. If you purchase the beans at the grocery store be sure they are fresh and not broken or damaged. Purchase a brand you are familiar with so you know the taste will be up to par. You might have better luck if you go to a coffee specialty shop and buy your beans from them. Next you need to purchase your chocolate.
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