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Post by brewbetter on Aug 20, 2017 16:23:11 GMT -5
Got all my equipment in finally, so I roasted my first batch this morning. 2 pounds of Bolivian Criollo/Trinatorio Cocoa Beans I bought from this site. I used my Behmor on P2, and the roast went just fine. Before roasting weight was 935 grams. After roast weight was 906 grams. My questions are on the cracking and winnowing. I put the beans through the Champion Juicer and they went right through with no problems. I winnowed using the blower end of my shop vac and a large plastic bowl. I did this in batches of ~300 grams of nibs three times. I expected to lose 20% of the weight to chaff, but only lost 10%. After winnowing I had 816 grams of nibs. I lost 90 grams. Here are some pictures of the nibs. There is still some chaff in the nibs, but not very much. The nibs were not uniform in color. Some were very dark and others were light brown. The chaff came off the bean very easy, just rolling the bean in my fingers and it started to come off. The bean was also very brittle, and I could easily break it apart with my hands. I was planing on using the champion to turn the nibs into liquor, as I can get rid of some more of the chaff that way, I think. I might try to blow some more chaf out before I start the final refining with the specter 11. I'm not thrilled with the uneven color of the nibs, but I suspect it will blend out in the end. I'm making a 75% dark chocolate. So, is just losing 10% to chaf ever normal with some beans? And is the uneven color of the nibs ever normal? There was some very small and large beans in the batch. John suggested not sorting and just go for it. I stopped the roast after the 2ed or 3ed crack. Oh yea, and most important, the nibs have a wonderful chocolate smell that is driving me crazy. So, I did something right...Ok, I did the winnowing again and got it down to 793 grams. About 13%. Not bad.
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Post by brewbetter on Aug 20, 2017 20:38:24 GMT -5
Ok, well, the chocolate is in the melanger. Smells great,looks great. Taste is still a little rough, but I'm sure it will get better. 663 g liquor,100 g cocoa butter and 250 g sugar. 1013 gram batch, 43 % fat and 76 % Caco. PITA cleaning up after making the liquor. Making the liquor was a breeze with the champion. If it makes my Spectra last longer putting liquor in instead of nibs, I'll probably stick with it. I've got two pounds left, maybe I'll make another batch next week, but pay more attention to the roasting. I'll report back tomorrow night or Tuesday on the results. Wow, I can call this batch the "Chocolate Eclipse of the Sun". Yea Baby!
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Post by mark on Aug 21, 2017 1:15:34 GMT -5
Bill, what you are describing seems fine. Your winnowing results appear to be pretty consistent to what I got when winnowing using a hair dryer. You don't need to get rid of all of the chaff, the fine sieve of the champion will catch the rest. I'm sure you'll be surprised how good your first batch tastes, we sure were.
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Post by brewbetter on Aug 21, 2017 5:45:27 GMT -5
Thanks Mark. Yes, the Champion got the rest of the chaff out, no problem. I lost 130 grams in the champion. John said you lose 6 ounces and I lost 4.6, so I'm right there. It's been in the Melanger 10 hours now and I just tasted it and I am blown away. It tastes really good. Very strong chocolate notes. Can't wait to make the next batch! Maybe a 60% cacao so I can do a side by side tasting.
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Post by brewbetter on Aug 22, 2017 18:44:37 GMT -5
Well, the chocolate came out great. I mean, some of the best I've ever had. I'm just blown away. I'm in south Texas, and it's 99 every day, and my AC in the house works it's butt off. I keep the thermostat at 79 degrees, so it's kind of warm in the house, but comfy. I just poured the chocolate out into a large non-stick baking sheet to set up, and I was going to just break it up and put in zip lock bag until I need it. Well, 12 hours later it is still soft. Kitchen temp is around 81 degrees. That is probably a problem. I put the pan in the fridge for 2 hours and it set up nicely. Then I bagged it and put it the cabinet and it started to get soft again before the end of the day. So I guess it get's stored in the fridge until the weather gets cooler here. Is that a problem? I have a vacuum sealer, should I vacuum seal it for storage? I am worried about the chocolate absorbing odors from the fridge, but it is in freezer zip lock. But, i am having fun, right? Yea, I am.
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Post by mark on Aug 22, 2017 23:31:20 GMT -5
Yeah that is quite warm Bill, it won't set at that temp. When it's warm here, I chill it for about 30 min in the beverage fridge (no odours) and then store it in the cellar. You can keep it in the fridge as long as you keep it in a sealed container to avoid odors. The vacuum sealing sounds like a perfect idea.
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Post by mark on Aug 22, 2017 23:32:53 GMT -5
Also when you take it out of the fridge wait for the bar to come to room temperature before taking it out of the zip lock bag / vacuum sealed bag to ensure any condensation forms on the outside of the bag and not on the chocolate itself.
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Post by brewbetter on Aug 23, 2017 5:53:48 GMT -5
Got it. Thanks Mark. It starts cooling off here in October, and that problem goes away till spring.
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Post by bmikiten on Aug 24, 2017 21:52:38 GMT -5
Well, the chocolate came out great. I mean, some of the best I've ever had. I'm just blown away. I'm in south Texas, and it's 99 every day, and my AC in the house works it's butt off. I keep the thermostat at 79 degrees, so it's kind of warm in the house, but comfy. I just poured the chocolate out into a large non-stick baking sheet to set up, and I was going to just break it up and put in zip lock bag until I need it. Well, 12 hours later it is still soft. Kitchen temp is around 81 degrees. That is probably a problem. I put the pan in the fridge for 2 hours and it set up nicely. Then I bagged it and put it the cabinet and it started to get soft again before the end of the day. So I guess it get's stored in the fridge until the weather gets cooler here. Is that a problem? I have a vacuum sealer, should I vacuum seal it for storage? I am worried about the chocolate absorbing odors from the fridge, but it is in freezer zip lock. But, i am having fun, right? Yea, I am. Hey Bill. I'm in San Antonio and have been making chocolate for about 2 years. The trick is to do most of the work in the evening when it cools down so the A/C can take advantage of the lower outside temps. I usually keep the house at 72 to 74F when tempering and get chocolate bars that stay tempered in the house or at work. Brian
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Post by Randy on Aug 25, 2017 18:08:33 GMT -5
Hey Bill, I'm new to this as well, but it sounds like you need to temper the chocolate after taking it out of the melanger so it will set up with the right crystalline structure and stay hard at room temps!
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Post by brewbetter on Aug 27, 2017 10:30:07 GMT -5
Brian and Randy, my AC could run 24/7 and not get down to 72 degrees I think. Ha, Ha. I use a lot of chocolate around the holidays, and I temper it when I need it. Maybe next time (after this tropical storm gets out of Texas) when I take it out of the melanger I'll put it in a bowl and temper it using the cocoa butter silk method and then just slab it in a large cookie sheet. I'll see if that works any better. But it's not a problem keeping it in the fridge until I need it.
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