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Post by sardijn on Mar 7, 2023 9:03:12 GMT -5
Hi All
In the spirit of learning from each other, what would you do differently in your chocolate journey? What mistakes did you make and what risks did you take that paid off (or didn't)?
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Post by Ben on Mar 7, 2023 15:34:32 GMT -5
I would have bought bigger equipment and moved away from stone grinders sooner. On the business side of things, I would have opened a retail location far, far earlier than I did.
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Post by Chip on Mar 8, 2023 8:47:24 GMT -5
Bigger equipment to start. 20lb minimum. Ben, may I please ask what you're using if you're not using stone grinders? I would've bought two roasters and more beans at one time. I'm going to have the opportunity to replace all of my equipment since all of it was lost in the housefire. I also would've purchased more "professional" complementary equipment. A nice tempering machine and a wine cooler for after molding. I also could save money I'm not buying little pieces of equipment that I thought would work, but really don't. Things such as a small plastic, chocolate depositor, a small cement mixer motor to try to make a vibrating table out, an airbrush, and inexpensive flimsy molds. These are just some of the examples of where I would save money. II know there's more but right now I can't think of it.
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Post by Ben on Mar 8, 2023 9:15:33 GMT -5
I've been using a universal for the past 4 or 5 years. Previously, I had used stone grinders of various sizes over the years, and for a year or so, a stone grinder with a couple different separate conches that I built and/or designed.
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Post by Chip on Mar 8, 2023 9:47:37 GMT -5
Ben, Do they make 'smaller' universals? Where do you get yours? Thanks. Don't mean to hijack the thread, my apologies.
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Post by Ben on Mar 8, 2023 10:00:46 GMT -5
I bought a 40L universal from a seller on Alibaba. They do have at least one smaller size available--20L I think.
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Post by sardijn on Mar 9, 2023 2:31:19 GMT -5
I bought a 40L universal from a seller on Alibaba. They do have at least one smaller size available--20L I think. How did you find it? Was the quality OK? They look hard to clean.
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Post by Ben on Mar 9, 2023 11:37:10 GMT -5
I just went to Alibaba and searched. They've got a ton of suppliers. Brad from Choklat who used to be on this forum a lot was importing them to North America for a while, but I'm not sure if he still is.
The one I got had some issues that took me several months to work out with the seller. They misrepresented themselves as the manufacturer, so it took extra long as they had to keep going back to the manufacturer when I messaged about the issues. So, I wouldn't go with that supplier again, but would definitely get another if I needed one. Since then, I've had essentially no problems.
They are essentially impossible to clean, so I've only ever put cacao and sugar into it--never any allergens. The best way to clean it is to flush with cocoa butter, but that's very expensive and doesn't get it perfectly clean. I've mounted mine on blocks in such a way that I can remove the front ones and lower the front of the machine to allow for more of the chocolate to come out.
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Post by Ben on Mar 10, 2023 11:38:18 GMT -5
I should note that I use stone grinders for a few things--just not actual chocolate. I make various nut butters, cookie butter, and various white chocolates in them. In fact, I just bought a new 25 lb grinder to replace a handful of little premier grinders.
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