Greetings to all at chocolate life,

I am looking for a wet grinder for small scale chocolate conching but am having difficulty in the U.K. I know that the Santha table top grinder is very popular in the U.S and although it originates from India they do not have an office in the U.K and their website is rubbish (they have not corresponded to my email). I am also aware that inno concepts make high quality wet grinders and ship to the U.K but am concerned aboutwarranty if I use an overseas company and do not know anyone that has used the 220 V ultra perfect + which I think woiuld be the right size for me.

What I am looking for chocolate lovers is advice, recommendations and locations on where to source a small scale reliable wet grinder in the U.K.

Thanks.

updated by @joseph-davies: 04/09/15 21:51:17

Hi Joseph,

I bought the Inno grinder to start making small batchs of chocolate at home. I had a problem and they responded pretty well - and they also shipped quickly and cheaply. After a year I bought their bigger machine and am overall happy with that too.

I had asked around a few Indian restaurants and shops etc hoping to find something similar already in the UK but had no luck at all. The Inno Concepts worked out cheaper than the Santha when shipping costs were taken into account.

The machines are both pretty basic and there are lots of comments on upgrades, replacement parts and so on on another forum (Chocolate Alchemy) which is well worth checking out for advice too.

Duffy

Hi This is Andal Balu from Inno Concepts.

We thank you for acknowledging that we make high quality equipment. We try our best to make sure our customers are happy with the products they buy from us.

We now have a separate website cocoatown.com that sells all the equipments for making chocolate. The Grindeurs have been improved Based on the chocolatiers' feedback. As Duffy mentioned, our prices are very affordable. We ship them to anywhere in the world. For small scale, We have a new product - ECGC-12 SS melanger. This is complete stainless steel unit with gear motor. It is the miniature version of our Big Grindeurs.

Regarding out of the country warranty, we send few spare parts that might be needed by the customer with the shipment. Also we can ship the parts to anywhere in the world.

Perfect+ is extremely well designed machine but is designed forgrinding30 minute batches of Indian food. In our lab studies, we have noticed that the motor temperature exceeded the maximum allowable temperature when used for more than 30 minute batches. We are currently making air flow design changes with active forced air flow to keep the motor cooler and make the unit suitable for chocolate grinding use. We plan to have the unit ready in couple of months.

Meanwhile, if you need it immediately, you can buy our deluxe melanger.

We have the complete train of small scale chocolate processing equipments such as CocoaT Roaster, CocoaT Cracker, CocoaT mini pregrinder,melanger / grinder/ concher (Grindeur)etc.

We are also looking for distributors in UK as we are getting more enquiries from there. Please let us know if anybody is interested.

Andal,

Where would we find information on your ECGC-12 SS melanger? I do not see it on the Cocoatown website.

Hi Andal,

Thanks for posting this info for us. Can you tell us where to find info aboutyour roaster, cracker, and mini pregrinder as I couldn't find any mention of those on the cocoatown.com website.

Thanks,

-Nat

____________________

Nat Bletter, PhD

Chocolate R&D

Madre Chocolate

http://madrechocolate.com

HI ANDAL,

would also like to know where to find this info?

Benoit

Hi Deborah & Benoit,

Here is the information on the ECGC-12 SS melanger / mini Grindeur.

This unit is the miniature version of our bigger commercial Grindeurs. All the parts except the stone bottom and roller stones are made of high quality stainless steel. The gear motor directly drives the grinding vessel. There is no belt and as a result less maintenance. The unit can grind 8 - 10 lbs of cocoa nibs.

The tension adjustor lets you control the tension of the grinding stones for grinding and conching functions.

Specifications:

Foot print - 15" x 12"

Weight - 70 lbs with packing materials

Motor - 1/3 Hp, 110V

Price - $970 + S&H.

Currently we could get hold of only the refurbished motors. So we are selling them for an initial offering of $770 + S&H. We are working on sourcing the correct motors and will update once we find the motors.

Hi Nat,

We are working on adding all these products in our website.

In the meantime, I have given some details on these products. If you need any specific information, please feel free to contact us.

CocoaT Cracker is ideal to crack the cocoa beans. CocoaT Crackers come in two models - Manual hand crank model and powered model. Both the models have stainless steel rollers.

CocoaT power cracker can crack 30 lbs of cocoa nibs in an hour. Stainless steel hopper. Cost $799.99 + S&H.

CocoaT manual cracker costs $249.99 + S&H.

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CocoaT Mini PREGRINDER

Want to enjoy the experience of making your own chocolate from the comfort of your home? How about making fresh cocoa powder, nut butters, or coconut butter in minutes? The CocoaT Mini Pregrinder is ideal for bringing your cocoa fantasies to life and creating your own unique recipes. Our machine is perfect for making chocolate components like nut pastes, cocoa powder, coconut butter, and many more!

CocoaT Mini Pregrinder fulfills your chocolate cravings. Two stainless steel jars are designed to handle any volume from a teaspoon to a cup of ingredients. Highly efficient and durable grinding blades grind and pulverize the ingredients in a jiffy.

The piano-key style buttons provide the user with ease and the flexibility to vary operating speeds efficiently and effectively. A handy compartment at the back of the unit stores the wire cord and keeps the area clutter-free. As a safety measure, the unit will start only if the jars are locked in position.

Features:

• Two stainless steel jars for different quantities
• Unique, durable blade design for increased longevity of blade and efficiency of use
• Wide jar design for easy operation and cleaning
• Jars with built-in flow breakers for uniform grinding
• Snap on lid for easy opening
• Heavy duty 550W motor
• Piano style keys with 3 speeds and a pulse function
• Safety switch, activated by locking the jar
• Reset switch to prevent the motor from overheating
• Built-in cord storage compartment
• One year limited warranty against any manufacturing defect
• Free delivery within continental USA
• Economical costs only $149.99

Specifications:

Motor - 550W, 110V
Jars - Stainless steel
Motor housing - ABS Plastic
Speeds - 3 plus a pulse
Foot Print - 12 x 6
Weight - 10 lbs with box

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CocoaT Roasters are ideal for roasting cocoa beans, the precursors of the best chocolate. Roasting at right temperature for the right duration results in better quality nibs and in turn better tasting chocolate. All CocoaT roasters are equipped with removable stainless steel roasting baskets.

Our CocoaT Roasters are equipped with temperature control. Cocoa beans are constantly tumbled at a slow speed for even roasting.

We have three different models to handle different volumes for small scale roasting.

Our CocoaT mini roasters can roast 2 lbs of cocoa beans. The unit comes with fixed temperature setting. The CocoaT mini roaster has a timer. Cost - $249.99 (F.O.B. Atlanta)

Our CocoaT Junior roaster can roast 5-6 lbs of cocoa beans. The CocoaT junior roaster has manual temperature and timer controls. Cost - $499.99 (F.O.B. Atlanta)

CocoaT Jumbo Roaster can roast 10-12 lbs of cocoa beans. The CocoaT Jumbo roaster comes with temperature and timer controls. Cost - $749.99 (F.O.B. Atlanta)

Thanks Duffy and Andal for helping me get the information that I requested. I am a new user to this site and the atmosphere and support are fantastic.

Has any one used theECGC-12 SS melanger? This is new so I do not imagine this was the one that you used Duffy?

Andal what is the deal with therefurbished motors does this still have a warranty? How much would that be in pounds to ship to the U.K including postage?

Thanks again for your time guys,

Joseph

Also Andal can theECGC-12 SS melanger wet grindstraightfrom the nib or do they have to be pre-grinded first?

Hi Joseph,

That grinder isn't the one I have but looks like a development of it - the footprint is about the same, anyway. I always used a "Champion" juicer to pre-grind the nibs following advice from the "Chocolate Alchemy" web-site but haven't tested it just with nibs. No reason that I can see that it wouldn't cope - if you introduce them slowly and carefully. Wait until the first handful has turned into liquid before you add more.

I'm in NE Lincs if you want to see either of my grinders working.

Duffy

Hi Joseph,

The ECGC-12 SS melanger has not been sold yet. We have used the machine for testing purposes and demonstration purposes.

The refurbished motors are for 110V users. For 220V unit, we can send it with the new gear motor and the unit will carry a limited one year warranty against any manufacturing defect. The C.I.F. Price for the ECGC-12 SS mini Grindeur will be $1230 (we accept funds in US$).

ECGC-12 SS mini Grindeur grinds the cocoa nibs. Some customers warm the cocoa nibs in the oven slightly and then add it to the mini Grindeur.

If you pregrind it in the mini pregrinder (which powders the cocoa nibs), the grinding time in the mini Grindeur is significantly reduced.

Please let us know if you need more information.

Andal Balu

Andal/Duffy,

I am not sure which one Duffy used but I am certain that it was not from thecommercialrange. Therefore the most it could have cost was the Perfect + for $399 CIF. You are quoting $1230 which is over 3x as much. I understand that the perfect is not designed to run for long periods of time and you have made several chocolate improvements like the removal of the belt but the difference in price is immense. Also the Perfect has a 2 year warranty. Could you send images and an exact spec highlighting the differences. I have heard about people having to replace the santha belt and value Duffy's recommendation but the price is making the decision difficult. It is nearly as much as the cheapest commercial wet grinder.

Duffy you mention the champion juicer and this was the machine that I had been recommended to use when using smaller wet-grinders. Andal you are obviuously trying to promote Inno products which is understandable but the pre-grinder just looks like a food processor. It does not separate the scrub from the licour. Is it powerful enough to pulverise the scrub?

Thanks again guys for your information and advice,

Joseph

Hi Joseph,

I want to clarify a few things.

Perfect+ is made for grinding grains and lentils where each batch of grinding is under 30 minutes. For grinding cocoa nibs into chocolate liquor, it takes more than 24 hours and sometimes even 48 hours depending on the process and the material used. We give only 90 day warranty for Perfect+ for chocolate grinding. also the price is $399.99 (F.O.B. Atlanta).

We developed ECGC-12 SS mini Grindeur because our customers wanted machines without the belts. also this unit is completely made of Stainless steel for hygiene and durability.

Regarding the pregrinder other pregrinders in the market have too many parts and the cleaning is harder. In CocoaT mini Pregrinder, it takes less than 30 seconds to grind one cup of cocoa nibs. Cleaning is very easy. Price is just $149.99 within Continental USA for 110V machine. In addition to cocoa nibs, it can also chop the nuts, grind the nuts into nut butters, grind coconut into coconut paste and more.

I have put a small video on youtube -cocoaT pregrinder.AVI - demonstrating the cocoa nibs grinding.

hi guys!!! as a part of our chocolate life in my openion i think that better to use the Robot coup machine, this is more convenient for making chocolate ganache or pralines also it can make grinded nuts.

Mariano:

A device like the Robot Coupe might make a good pre-grinder but it's not going to work for the extended periods of time necessary for flavor development and particle size reduction in making chocolate.

I agree with you about making pralins and grinding nuts and they are also good for ganaches as long as you're careful to make sure that the ganache covers the blades.

Robot Coupes may be expensive but they are versatile multi-taskers and well worth every penny.

:: Clay

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