"No need for anything like that.
What you need to do is warm the bowl, stones and nibs to about 115F and then add the nibs slowly until they start to release some fat. Once that happens you can go a little faster until all the nibs are…"
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Making cocoa liquor
Started this discussion. Last reply by cheebs Jan 11. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Greetings all,I'm looking for a way to make cocoa liquor from nibs to feed my santha grinder. After much investigation I purchased a spice grinder which grinds nibs into powder, but this also seizes…Continue
pregrinders
Started this discussion. Last reply by Adam Kavalier Sep 29, 2012. 12 Replies 0 Likes
Greetings all,I was wondering if anyone can offer some advice on pregrinders. I have been using the champion juicer which is slow and messy. I see that INNOmix offers the Surya Mixer Grinder (which…Continue
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Adam Kavalier posted a discussionMaking cocoa liquor
Greetings all,I'm looking for a way to make cocoa liquor from nibs to feed my santha grinder. After much investigation I purchased a spice grinder which grinds nibs into powder, but this also seizes up the Santha. Even when the ground powder is warmed it does not melt into liquor. Perhaps I need a different type of grinder, maybe one that produces more of a shearing grind rather than a rotor with blades which produces only powder.I'm trying to avoid the use of cacao butter so I'm looking for…See More
cheebs replied to Adam Kavalier's discussion pregrinders"You need to open up the machine and you will see the places where belt tension can be adjusted. The fiberglass link-belt can be bought at any decent hardware store or Amazon. IIRC I used 3/8". The great thing is that it's…"
Adam Kavalier replied to Adam Kavalier's discussion pregrinders"How do you go about tightening the belt? Where did you get a fiberglass belt (I'm working with the spectra 10)? "
Adam Kavalier replied to eileen h.'s discussion Chocolate Bar Packaging Options - Your experience and feedback"Hi Eileen,
Have you had any luck finding vendors for your packaging specifications? The packaging manufacturers and distributors that I have found only do high volume, I haven't found anyone making less than tens of thousands of packaging…"
cheebs replied to Adam Kavalier's discussion pregrinders"I've been making chocolate with Santha/Ultra grinders since 2008. The machines are in constant use. I have yet to experience separation of the bowl(s) and as stated before, since my second batch of chocolate, I don't…"
Felipe Jaramillo F. replied to Adam Kavalier's discussion pregrinders"I am now in favor of pregrinding the nibs. Even with melted cocoa butter to start, the cold nibs put too much stress on the machine and can easily separate the plastic center piece from the stone. I tried warming the nibs in the microwave, together…"
cheebs replied to Adam Kavalier's discussion pregrinders"Sebastian has a very good point... we actually replaced the craptastic black rubber belts with fiberglass link belts which last 10x as long.
And still the belts need to be retightened about once every two months."
Sebastian replied to Adam Kavalier's discussion pregrinders"You may also need to tighten the belt from time to time.
"
cheebs replied to Adam Kavalier's discussion pregrinders"Absolutely. They do need to be quite warm, 115-120 F at a minimum, as must be the bowl and stones!
You can't dump the entire recipe's worth of nibs in all at once either, it takes about half an hour of slowly adding them…"
Adam Kavalier replied to Adam Kavalier's discussion pregrinders"Hey Dylan,
Cool video! The grain mill looks like a nice and economical way to make liquor.
Thanks!"
Adam Kavalier replied to Adam Kavalier's discussion pregrinders"Thanks Cheebs,
I tried nibs directly but not warmed, the instrument seized up. So if you warm the nibs and allow the cocoa butter to soften the Santha can grind without any issue?
"
cheebs replied to Adam Kavalier's discussion pregrinders"I don't really see why you need a pregrinder. Both the Santha and Ultra can perfectly handle (warmed) nibs. I haven't used the Champion (or any other device) to pre-grind since my second batch of chocolate in 2008!"
Dylan Butterbaugh replied to Adam Kavalier's discussion pregrinders"Hey Adam,
I was having similar issues and did not like the champion juicer. Super messy, heavy, and always getting really hot. I ended up using a grain mill. If you secure it to a table it will quickly refine the nibs to liquor. It will be a…"
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