Hi everyone,

I am making hot/cold chocolate out of a large pot (bain marie) and I am looking for a creative way to transfer the milk/hot chocolate from the pot to the cup. Using a ladle is not so convenient and I have been investigating the following leads:

- Bulbs with a pipette as used for chemistry experiment. Picture here: http://www.ibotz.com/pipette-bulbs-pvc-pearp-shape.html

- A syringe

My main issue in both cases has been to find equipment that could handle 350+ ml. I thought of these equipements as they are easy to clean and fun to use. It add a little fun factor to the hot chocolate making in front of your customers.

How do you guys handle it? Using a standard dispenser? isn't it a bit risky with milk as it might be hard to clean well and then with milk germs proliferate fast.

If you have any ingenious idea please share it here.

Thank you.

Olivier

updated by @olivier-l: 04/10/15 04:31:35

Olivier -

You are right - there's nothing I can find in the way of pipettes and basters that are larger than about 40-60mls.

I wonder if a siphon like this one might work.

It will do about 1 pint (about 475ml) in three strokes, once primed. You could move the supply hose from the chocolate to a container of water to clean (by pumping) after each serving. With the right mounting hardware something like this could be pretty cool for serving hot chocolate.

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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

Hi Clay,

Thanks for the great idea. As I am in Chile I'll try to get one shipped down here. I have already looked into veterinarian tools, "car oil" pumps and other interesting tools but none have been satisfying up until now so I'll try yours and see how it goes.

If anyone thinks of something else, I am all ears.

Olivier

Clay, the problem with a syphon like you suggested is that the hose is corrugated, and will trap the hot chocolate and make it hard to clean.

There are MANY inexpensive hot chocolate dispensers on the market, just this one on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BABBYNITA-Hot-Chocolate-Machine-/350262367584?pt=BI_Hot_Beverage_Brewers&hash=item518d439560

Failing that, a simple stainless steel measuring cup works just fine. My shops use about 32 litres of our drinking chocolate every week, and that's all we use to pour into our steamer cups. There really is no need to make things complicated.

Cheers.

Brad

Brad:

I read the OP to say they wanted to try something new and different (i.e., not a ladle - which I also interpreted to mean not a measuring cup) to transfer the chocolate from an existing bain marie (not in buying a new machine). I also read Olivier's profile and he's from Switzerland and I learn now in Chile, so the suggestion of a comparatively low-tech concept that could be implemented many ways turned out to be especially appropriate.

Replacing the siphon hose is trivial; I was pointing out anapproachto solving the problem of finding a new and different way to dispense hot chocolate, not suggesting a specific piece of equipment.

NN2R (no need to respond) to me on this. If you have something in line with what Olivier was asking for, please feel free to respond to the spiritof his OP.

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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

Hi Brad, hi Clay,

Yes indeed I wanted something different that would add a little "chemistry touch" or so to the process of making hot chocolate. However finding that with sufficient volume capacity turns out to be way more complicated than I'd have guessed.

I thank you both for your replies and I wish you a great day.

Olivier

Hello Brad. Sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong thread: I can't find your original post regarding your Hot Chocolate formula. Also, I apologize for being "thick" not understanding your process. Your post went something like this:

"Premake your drinking chocolate base using a scaled up recipe of 1 part liquor, 2 parts granulated sugar, and one part powdered sugar. We make 16 litres at a time, heat it to 165 degrees F and put it in a fridge to cool. It's important to NOT bring it to a boil, but heat it high enough to kill pathogens.

Then when a customer orders, we portion out 200ml and use a cappuccino steamer to heat it. It only takes a few seconds, and at that time the cornstarch in the powdered sugar thickens the drink, making it very rich and creamy."

Can I ask what is being heated to 165? Is it just the chocolate, then adding the sugars? Is this being added to heated milk at the end of the process?

Second question: the link you gave for the BABBYNITA machine above has been sold and no info is available about it. Any other suggestions for inexpensive steamers? Thanks again for the help, John Duxbury