The Chocolate Life

Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa!

Sebastian
  • Male
  • Lancaster, PA
  • United States
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Sebastian's Friends

  • Tamara Ak
  • priya
  • Daniela Vasquez
  • Hannah Crowley
  • Felipe Jaramillo F.
  • Karen Blueberry
  • Ernesto Bugarin Pantua Jr.
  • Ice Blocks!
  • Amber Fawson
  • Anthony Lange
  • Dave Elliott
  • Jorge Valverde
  • John Hepler
  • Susan Van Horn
  • Bertil Åkesson

Sebastian's Discussions

"Raw" chocolate FDA recall

Started this discussion. Last reply by antonino allegra May 21, 2012. 4 Replies

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm303012.htmIt should be obvious to everyone what my position is on this matter by now.  It's good to…Continue

Is anyone attending ZDS in Cologne this year?

Started Nov 18, 2010 0 Replies

Koln's great this time of year - if so, first round of Dom Kolsch's on me...Continue

 

Sebastian's Page

Latest Activity

Sebastian replied to Sarah Ariella Shapiro's discussion Working on a cocoa farm
"Great area.  Lots of red and black 8)"
May 10
Sebastian replied to matt black's discussion Wilbur Veliche - Van Leer - Guittard
"Veliche is produced in Belgium.  However, simply using african beans on german equipment based in belgium doesn't result in something that's different from the same product made using african beans on german equipment based in the…"
Apr 24
Sebastian replied to Pat Renner's discussion Stubborn milk crystals
"Prob not what you want to hear - but i'd most likely discard it."
Apr 19
Sebastian replied to Mike's discussion Pre Grinders and particle size
"Depends a great deal on the specifics - what type of pre grinder?  how's it configured?  what are you running through it (EXACT %'s), your % fat in your paste, how big your particles are to begin with (ie 1000 um sugar will…"
Apr 19
Sebastian replied to Pat Renner's discussion Stubborn milk crystals
"how do you know they're 'milk crystals' (and what are milk crystals?) 110F for 3 months is an *awefully* long time to let chocolate sit.  my strong suspicion is that, if you've got 'balls' of stuff that won't…"
Apr 17
Sebastian and Daniela Vasquez are now friends
Apr 14
Sebastian replied to Ruth 's discussion cocoa beans hazardous food
"No.  However, the warmer you keep them, or the higher humidity they are stored in, the higher the potential for infestation - just as with any raw agricultural commodity."
Apr 12
Sebastian replied to Ruth 's discussion cocoa beans hazardous food
"if unroasted, yes.  they are likely to contain harmful bacteria.  also, if you throw them really, really hard at someone, it can be hurtful."
Apr 11
Sebastian replied to Andrea Bauer's discussion praline paste storage
"Get as much oxygen out of your packaging as possible, keep it as cold as possible, and away from as much light as possible."
Apr 11
Sebastian replied to Kalibri Anne's discussion Single Origin Chocolate - Standards?
"Thanks Jim - looking forward to it!"
Apr 10
Sebastian replied to Kalibri Anne's discussion Single Origin Chocolate - Standards?
"You can absolutely have genetic variation w/in a pod.  All of the seeds will not be genetically identical."
Apr 10
Sebastian replied to Fin's discussion Cacao genetics
"No."
Apr 10
Sebastian replied to Kalibri Anne's discussion Single Origin Chocolate - Standards?
"Again it's possible to determine definitively.  There's not a great deal of value in doing so however. The biggest problem is - how do you define criollo? It's been done, there is an answer - but almost no one knows what it is…"
Apr 10
Sebastian replied to Kalibri Anne's discussion Single Origin Chocolate - Standards?
"Correct, no legal requirements. There are a few who can tell if it's true or not; it's certainly possible 8-)"
Apr 9
Sebastian replied to Kalibri Anne's discussion Single Origin Chocolate - Standards?
"Jim, would you be willing to post some photographs of your trees and fermentation and drying areas? I'd love to see them..."
Apr 9
Sebastian replied to Shannon Campbell's discussion Food safety when keeping chocolate or compound melted
"My suspicion is that they're trying to control the formation of nitrosodimethylamines, which are by products of the marriage of chlorine + proteins, and are pretty genotoxic at low levels.  Now, your inspector probably doesn't know…"
Apr 8

Profile Information

Dark, Milk, White?
Dark
Most memorable chocolate experience:
Being shot at while in origin.
My favorite chocolate is:
My own.

Comment Wall (7 comments)

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At 11:58am on August 28, 2012, Sebastian said…

T - sorry, have been traveling, didn't see this until now.  I'm afraid i don't have a friend request from you, and your profile's set to private so i can neither comment back on your question below, nor post an answer to your board i'm afraid...

At 6:22pm on July 24, 2012, t said…

Sebastian I have sent a friend request because I want to talk to you about sugar alternatives like stevia for chocolate. Is there one cultivar that is best to use? I eat Paleo and have food intolerances, no fructose for one, and autoimmune conditions and insulin resistance and looking for some way to have a sweet treat occasionally. I feel you might understand a possible work around.

At 11:14pm on March 20, 2012, brian horsley said…

hi sebastian-- re your comment, you were not at all out of line.  you are obviously supremely knowledgeable about cacao and genetics.  what do you do?

brian

At 6:36am on September 12, 2011, Ernesto Bugarin Pantua Jr. said…

Hi Sebastian,

 

I,ll check with DHL if there will be no restrictions in sending them from the Philippines.  I'll not charge you anything but we will be most interested in 

your assessment on the quality of our beans.

 

Thanks for the offer.

 

Ernesto

 

At 11:20am on September 27, 2010, John Hepler said…
I will not likely be back in the States til mid-December, at which point I'll share out some beans. PLEASE remind me with an email at that time, and I'll be glad to send you some.
At 8:11pm on May 25, 2010, heather andall said…
Being shot at?
please tell us more.....
At 8:59pm on May 23, 2010, ChocoFiles said…
Hi and welcome to TCL. I learned a lot from your post in reply to Sunita about the relationships with growers, fair trade, etc. I look forward to learning more from you, as you seem quite knowledgeable.

I'm curious, too. You said your favorite chocolate is your own. Do you make your own chocolate from the bean? What is it called?
 
 
 

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