Post by scottjensen on Nov 18, 2008 10:57:29 GMT -5
I have tried several different pieces of equipment and have found several that seem to work well for me. Just wondering what everyone else uses? I'd like to find easier ways to accomplish the processes involved- without getting into commercial equipment for thousands of dollars.
Roasting- I use a BBQ drum roaster. A Brinkman 4-burner grill with a SS drum. It was originally used to roast 7lbs of coffee, now it's used for cocoa. I roast 5lbs in it, but since roasting cocoa beans is inherently different than coffee beans I really think I could easily roast twice or 3x that amount.
Cracking I use the crankenstein and well worth every penny!
Winnowing I use the blower attachment on a small wet/dry vac, used only for this purpose. And a large SS mixing bowl. My arm gets tired from holding the bowl and swirling the cracked beans, but it works fairly well. I'd say I can remove about 99% of the husk, not sure how many of the nibs I lose. A few I'm sure but not so many that it's noticeable. Really like to find a better way to do this!!
Grinding I have used the Champion, but it's slow and messy. Finding a way to bridge the gap between nibs and something the Santha can handle has been difficult. I have been using our Vita Mix recently. It is powerful enough to turn the nibs into a thick liqueur, you have to be careful at first as it can seize up and overheat the motor. Start with a small amount of nibs, until they liquefy then slowly add more until the container is half full. I pour into the Santha at this point. The next batch is easier to start because there is some liqueur remaining.
I just bought an Old Tyme peanut butter grinder and used it for the first time on Sunday. I had some problems using it, but I think those can be solved with a hair dryer. The metal parts of the grinder need to be warm! It will reduce the nibs to a paste, but almost as fast it solidified and seized up the shaft. Once the machine was warmed up I had very few problems. Other than the cocoa mass solidifying in the container before I could get it to the Santha. At that point I still went ahead and used the Vita mix, to completely liquefy and heat up the liqueur, since I did not have a hair dryer to add heat and the mass was giving the Santha problems. Once again, when everything was warm it went very smoothly- the shop temp was just too cool. I think with a hair dryer I can warm the equipment up enough to go directly from the peanut grinder to the Santha.
Conching Refining I use the Santha Melanger. It's a wonderful machine. Not real sure what I'm doing with it yet! I learn more all the time, just learned it is adjustable on this forum. I always screw it all the way down, did not realize it was made to be adjustable. Not sure what I thought that spring was for!! Have not fully come to grips with the whole difference between conching and refining. I so far just put it in the Santha until it's smooth and pour it into the molds. I love the chocolate, so I guess that is good enough. I don't make anything so far but Unsweetened chocolate, to use in baking, hot fudge and chocolate sauces.
Tempering This one really kills me. I have a tough time getting this correct. Maybe I should just buy a tempering machine. I haven't worried to much about it since a little bloom does not hurt for baking purposes, but I would like to perfect it! I did see a waterless double boiler in a cooking magazine last week. Seems like it would be perfect for chocolate. It's a SS sealed pan, that must have a liquid or gel center, This might make the whole process simpler.
Well if you use anything easier, better or just different I love to hear about it!!
Thanks, Scott Jensen
Roasting- I use a BBQ drum roaster. A Brinkman 4-burner grill with a SS drum. It was originally used to roast 7lbs of coffee, now it's used for cocoa. I roast 5lbs in it, but since roasting cocoa beans is inherently different than coffee beans I really think I could easily roast twice or 3x that amount.
Cracking I use the crankenstein and well worth every penny!
Winnowing I use the blower attachment on a small wet/dry vac, used only for this purpose. And a large SS mixing bowl. My arm gets tired from holding the bowl and swirling the cracked beans, but it works fairly well. I'd say I can remove about 99% of the husk, not sure how many of the nibs I lose. A few I'm sure but not so many that it's noticeable. Really like to find a better way to do this!!
Grinding I have used the Champion, but it's slow and messy. Finding a way to bridge the gap between nibs and something the Santha can handle has been difficult. I have been using our Vita Mix recently. It is powerful enough to turn the nibs into a thick liqueur, you have to be careful at first as it can seize up and overheat the motor. Start with a small amount of nibs, until they liquefy then slowly add more until the container is half full. I pour into the Santha at this point. The next batch is easier to start because there is some liqueur remaining.
I just bought an Old Tyme peanut butter grinder and used it for the first time on Sunday. I had some problems using it, but I think those can be solved with a hair dryer. The metal parts of the grinder need to be warm! It will reduce the nibs to a paste, but almost as fast it solidified and seized up the shaft. Once the machine was warmed up I had very few problems. Other than the cocoa mass solidifying in the container before I could get it to the Santha. At that point I still went ahead and used the Vita mix, to completely liquefy and heat up the liqueur, since I did not have a hair dryer to add heat and the mass was giving the Santha problems. Once again, when everything was warm it went very smoothly- the shop temp was just too cool. I think with a hair dryer I can warm the equipment up enough to go directly from the peanut grinder to the Santha.
Conching Refining I use the Santha Melanger. It's a wonderful machine. Not real sure what I'm doing with it yet! I learn more all the time, just learned it is adjustable on this forum. I always screw it all the way down, did not realize it was made to be adjustable. Not sure what I thought that spring was for!! Have not fully come to grips with the whole difference between conching and refining. I so far just put it in the Santha until it's smooth and pour it into the molds. I love the chocolate, so I guess that is good enough. I don't make anything so far but Unsweetened chocolate, to use in baking, hot fudge and chocolate sauces.
Tempering This one really kills me. I have a tough time getting this correct. Maybe I should just buy a tempering machine. I haven't worried to much about it since a little bloom does not hurt for baking purposes, but I would like to perfect it! I did see a waterless double boiler in a cooking magazine last week. Seems like it would be perfect for chocolate. It's a SS sealed pan, that must have a liquid or gel center, This might make the whole process simpler.
Well if you use anything easier, better or just different I love to hear about it!!
Thanks, Scott Jensen