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Tom updated their profile

June 23

Tom replied to Lindsay Truffler's discussion 'Cocoa Butter Problem'

Are you using polycarbonate moulds?

June 21

Tom replied to I AM > deedee laxmi devi's discussion 'pure CRIOLLO CACAO tempering q's' in the group HomeBrew Chocolate

I agree with Frank, it sounds like there was moisture in your chocolate and you created a ganache of sorts which doesn't need to be tempered as chocolate does but does need a little agitation when it gets cold to crystalise uniformly.

June 7

Tom replied to Clay Gordon's discussion 'Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment'

I think a good cheap way to roast the beans is using convection ovens that bakers use. I know Brad uses these in his set up and can roast about 15kg at a time in an oven. These ovens are cheap, especially second hand, compared to coffee roasters whi…

June 3

Tom replied to Clay Gordon's discussion 'Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment'

I see you have a valve to regulate the feed on the winnower, do you find that you can set the flow rate and leave it or does it block easily? Nice additions to the original design! I thought that an auger of some type would be a good way to feed int…

June 3

Sirius Chocolate replied to Tom's discussion 'Child Slave Labour Doco'

Child slave labor is a major issue with the cacao used by a lot of the "big boys" of chocolate manufacturing. It is truly difficult to maintain integrity when dealing with through-puts the size of a companies like, oh say, Hersheys. This is a huge…

May 23

Jim and Tom are now friends

May 19

Tom commented on I AM > deedee laxmi devi's photo 'hand tempering ... YIKES!'

Ha ha ha, that is exactly how I feel about tempering

May 6

Profile Information

Dark, Milk, White?

Dark

Most memorable chocolate experience:

Making my own chocolate bean to bar

My favorite chocolate is:

I am getting good enough to say my own.

Comment Wall (8 comments)

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At 4:26am on April 23, 2010, Theobroma man said…: Thanks Tom, good to be here!

At 2:03am on April 3, 2010, Kristina said…: Hi Tom

I'd love to hear/read more about your chocolate and wine pairing study, epecially re Madagascar origin.

At 10:18pm on March 22, 2010, Robert Frederick Rankin said…: Hi Tom. Love to hear how you started off and how you overcame any difficulties - Bob Rankin

At 1:45pm on August 25, 2009, Hector Velásquez said…: Estimate (A)
Seeking strategic alliances for the marketing of products such as organic or conventional cocoa liquor or cocoa for the gourmet industry, we are delighted to be able to attend.
We are able to offer high-quality cocoa in accordance with the requirements you need, ASE, conventional and organic, semi-finished cocoa, liquor, roasted and peeled grains NIBS roasted cocoa, we want to know what their requirements are refers fermentation, quality and quantity, our cocoa is ARRIBA National Fine or flavor (Creole), if there is interest in reaching an agreement we can send you more information, work plans and samples according to your requirements.
We are working integrally with the producers of cocoa, we have experience in the development of negotiation and management of quality control of export products, we are interested to know if you want Ecuadorian cocoa liquor, while I send my best wishes for commercial success.
Please contact us with any questions. We will be glad to assist you at any time and we can make to ensure the quality of the products you require, waiting to hear your comments, wishing all the best commercial.
PS: DO NOT SPEAK MUCH ENGLISH, sorry ERRORS
Best regards,

Héctor Velásquez
I manage in Quality and Commercialization
HECDAVE
Km. 10.5 Vía a Daule
Guayaquil - Ecuador
e-mail: hecdave123@yahoo.com
Msn: hecdave123@hotmail.com
Skype: hecdave123
Cel: 593 99873860

At 3:06pm on June 19, 2009, Frank Schmidt said…: Tom,

Send me an e-mail to : fhsdds at tri-lakes dot net

I've got a couple of more ideas on the chocolate that I've been working on.

I'll be back on-line Monday.

Frank

At 10:57pm on March 29, 2009, Alison Holland said…: I am awaiting 15kg from John but will try Tava when I'm finished with those. I would like to try and age some chocolate so I may go through those quite quickly.
My sister is holidaying in Australia - I'll see if she can find some of that icing sugar for me. Thanks

At 9:29pm on March 29, 2009, Alison Holland said…: Thanks Tom
I am very new to this game but I have been in contact with Tava and they said they are not yet up and running in their new premises. I am on their email list to notify when operational again but for now I have been ordering from John at Chocolate Alchemy. I have only made two batches and can't wait to make some more.
Question for you - I read somewhere that you can get icing sugar in Australia with no starch in it - is this true and would it be any good for chocolate?

At 9:00am on February 23, 2009, Jeff Pzena said…: Hi Tom,
I'm doing an incredibly small scale commercial operation in Belize called Cotton Tree Chocolate Company which is an off shoot of my jungle lodge called Cotton Tree Lodge. I was following your thread on winnowing but I couldn't see the pictures. Would you mind emailing me some pics? I'm at jeff@cottontreelodge.com. Thanks!