|
Post by Alchemist on Jan 25, 2008 14:21:15 GMT -5
John; I may sound very cynical at this point, but if there was a way to cut the refining time of chocolate down to a matter of an hour or so, instead of 12 hours, would it not stand to reason that the companies spending millions of dollars on research and development of chocolate equipment would have found it already? Also, regardless of the refining time, the chocolate still needs to be stirred (conched) for a period of time to develop the appropriate flavours. Companies like Netsch, MacIntyre, and such have the refining process down to 9-12 hours and boast of it. HOWEVER, when you read articles such as the ones recently posted in here on Amano chocolate, and others from Sharffenberger, they are clear that it's best to let the chocolate age for a period of time after processing to further develop the flavour profile. Input is always welcome. But so is not closing your mind. "If they could do it, wouldn't they" is a REALLY bad path to go down. I was told that EXACT thing before starting Chocolate Alchemy. "Don't you think if you could make chocolate at home, someone would have figured it out by now?" And scale is a HUGE item. There is a massive difference in making a small home batch and a commercial batch and the rules DO change. A 5 gallon batch of ale can and does age and mature significantly faster than 55 gallons or 5500 gallons. Same deal with scotch. They are aged in casks partly for tradition and economics and take years to age. I have tasted some 3 year old "scotch" american single malt whiskey that rivaled "real" scotch because is was small batch processed and aged. I really appreciate the thought you are putting into the James. I love the idea of having the CHOICE of a short or long refine or conche or whatever. There is TONS we don't know about conching. It is so many theorys and I flinch whenever someone (sorry brad) someone says you have to do something. One of the best things Frederick of Dagoba told me is that basically there are no rules. It's your taste. I like the look of the chillrollers. Worth looking at. And I may take the geared roller idea back up. Something that could refine with a couple passes would be great.
|
|
|
Post by Brad on Jan 26, 2008 3:43:09 GMT -5
John;
I get the impression that you feel I have a closed mind, or that I indicate people should follow the status quo. You can't be further off your mark on that one when it comes to me. I eat and sleep by a "mission statement" I wrote 8 years ago when getting my first internet company off the ground. It reads as follows:
"Personal accomplishment is limited by our perception of the world around us and the barriers defined by that perception. If for one moment we could view the world without fear or preconceived notion, the true scope of our potential becomes unlimited."
Every day in one of my business ventures I question the status quo, and am very successful because I always ask how I can make the venture more profitable, and more efficient without compromising quality.
I know this is off topic, and I'm about to get on a soap box, but I'm going to anyway.
The biggest problem with people in business is that they undervalue themselves horrendously. If a person is earning $15 per hour at their job and they see a small business opportunity that will make them $20 per hour they're happy, and some will go for it.
I promise you that people who do this are sorrily missing the mark and will eventually become slaves to their own enterprise. Why? Because they have never thought far enough out of the box to generate enough revenue from the business to allow them the freedom of enjoying life outside of the business.
As a small business person building a "production line" to make chocolates, calculate your time at $100 per hour! Now you HAVE to find innovative ways to make money with it! When you figure out you can do the same business and make money, you'll notice that all of a sudden other people are doing the work, and all you're doing is overseeing it. Why? Because you're forcing yourself to think out of the box. It's simply too expensive for you to get your hands dirty.
Trust me when I tell you that overseeing a project is far more fun than being knee deep in the trenches every day. Overseeing it allows you to dip down in the trenches for a bit, experience the passion that attracted you to the business in the first place, and then take the rest of the day off and play.
The ability to step in and out of the trenches is EXTREMELY important regardless of the size of the business. It allows you to keep your passion. It prevents you from becoming mired in the details of running a business. It gives you a mental break and the ability to face challenges in a more objective fashion.
Now, you the reader can think I'm just full of hot air. However, here's something for you entrepreneurs to chew on!
Phase 1 of My new chocolate company SOChoklat will open July 01. It will not use a dime of my own money. I will retain 100% ownership of it. It will be debt free 30 days after the doors open in the slowest time of the year - July! I will have committed, prepaid orders for over 100,000 truffles before the equipment even lands here in Canada (I'm already at 20,000).
It's amazing what any person can accomplish if you set seemingly unreasonable goals, and then think hard of how to attain them.
3 Rules: Never "Settle" for the alternative. Never quit. Never sell yourself or your abilities short.
I'm now going to shut up and step off my soap box.
I truly wish everyone in here the best, and I believe this forum and it's openness has been a fabulous source of inspiration for people. I hope that everyone in their own right finds what they are seeking in their worlds of chocolate. I know I'm having a blast. I can't even call this work!
Best regards, Brad.
|
|
|
Post by jamescary on Jan 31, 2008 17:21:32 GMT -5
I think there's a 4th rule, brad: "Never get involved in a land war in Asia" Great mission statement. I have to applaud both of you for starting businesses. Guy Kawasaki, a director at a VC firm, stopped by to give a lecture on innovation here at my day job and said something that has stuck with me, which is to never accept "bozosity". Bozosity is exactly the attitude that we are limited and something can't be done. Do you have a website up for your company (or how do you take pre-orders and will you be shipping to the US? On the refining front, I picked up some pasta rollers and hopefully I'll be able to find some time to give them a go.
|
|
|
Post by Brad on Jan 31, 2008 23:04:34 GMT -5
Bozocity! LOL! That's a good one!
I joke around with people that the word "can't" is a four letter word.
I'm reading a book right now by Tony Robbins - "How to Awaken the Giant Within" - or something like that. It's my way of making it through an hour on a stationary bike every day. (Gotta work off all my sampling! Hah!)
Anyway, he's all about getting the average person to not accept mediocrity and to think big, but also actually DO something about it at the same time.
Hope things work out for you James, and I hope you and John didn't take offence at my "Soap box spiel".
Brad.
|
|
|
Post by jamescary on Feb 1, 2008 16:03:07 GMT -5
No offence taken. "It's not personal, it's business" right? I'm all about free exchange of information. One thing that would be nice is to be able to splinter off a new forum because there may be some insight here to small business entreperneurs. I'm not there, yet. I'm still considering this a hobby, if it leads to something monetary fantastic otherwise I'll keep the day job
|
|
|
Post by Alchemist on Feb 4, 2008 18:12:22 GMT -5
|
|