Looking for the smallest R&D fully automatic (seedless) tempering machine/solution

Hello everyone, I am ramping up a new project here. I need to be able to provide multiple clients (on demand and within short notice) with small samples of custom couvertures made to specs inhouse and from scratch (bean to bar). The samples inlcude all types of chocolate dark, milk and white with variable flavors and cacao origin and % ...  

The sample sizes can be as small as 2 lbs and as large as 6 lbs. For this quantities, it is not possible or pratical for me to use any of my largers full automatic tempering kettles/machines due low volume, high product change over frequency and to avoid holding production. So bottom line, I need to set up a dedicated R&D environment for this purpose.

For my R&D environment, I have allocated bunch of existing mini machines that I already own: a behmor 1600 mini roaster, my own inhouse built cracker/winnower and a cocoa town ECGC12-SL melanger, but as far as tempering, I only have a semi-automatic tempering machine (REVOLATION DELTA) and since it is not possible to have in stock an ad-hoc custom couverture seed and for formula accuracy I obviously need a small easy to clean and get ready fully automatic tempering machine where I can pour the ready to temper chocolate directly from the melanger to it and have my sample ready to ship for my clients which I do not currenty own and I have to purchase.

I have checked couple of solutions and I would like your opinion in:

Option 1- Purchase an EZ Temper and use it along with my semi automatic REVOLATION DELTA where I can cool my chocolate manually to 92.5 F (33.6 C) and add 1% cacao silk (Pros - 1K budget, Cons: impact on formula accuracy with 1% cacao butter)  

Option 2- Purchase a fully automatic table top tempering machine like FBM Aura or similar ( Pros: fast, maintain accurate formula - Cons: Expensive and may need more time to have it ready for the next change over)    Any one want to sell a used similar machine?? 

I do not have any experience with EZ Temper or FBM Aura or any table top fully automatic tempering mahcine.  

What are your 2 cents on this??

Many Thanks!

Tony

What kinds of quantities are you talking about needing to temper?

Hi Clay,

I have currently a pool of 3 ECGC12-SL Melangers I am expecting to be soon using them all on a daily basis (up to 3 batches/day - 2 to 6 lbs/batch). So we're talking at least 3 product change over per day on the tempering machine.

If my business takes off, I might reach double the batches (up to 6 change overs/day) in the foreseeable future.

So I need for this purpose a tempering machine that this practical for a single person to operate.

Thanks,

Tony

Two thoughts:

1. Are you not able to table/hand temper? I can temper 3kg of chocolate in 5-10 minutes and then dump it into a holding tank at working temperature (eg., a Mol d'Art) to mould. By far the cheapest option and it is quick.

2. Couldn't you just adjust your chocolate formula so that when you add 1% ccb from the EZTemper, it all balances out to the exact percentages you want?

Hi Gap, as far as option 1, unfortunately not skilled enough to perform accurate seedless hand tempering although I have a  Bakon MTD-123 and I do not have a cooling marble and I am not sure how easy can someone aquire this knowledge to end up with the perfect temper in short time? 

As far as option 2, my concern with 1% butter is maintaining a true 100% single origin - But I have too many cases especially with milk based and white based couvertures were I can take advantage of the EZt and adjust the formula accordingly.

I'd echo hand tempering.  A hot plate/cold box, an aluminum pan, a spatula, and a thermometer will go a LONG way for you.  A few days of practice and you'll have all the skill you need to keep going.  Having an EZ Temper on hand will also result in you being able to very rapidly work with small amounts.

Thanks Sebastian and Gap, I've just ordered an EZt It is a handy tool as It can handle the majority of my couvertures - As far as the 2 ingredient Single Origin Dark I have to practice on hand tempering and check results and take it from there

Cheers!

Tony 

Sebastian/Gap,  just a quick update,  my first hand tempering experiment (with 2 lbs of bean 2 bar dark chocolate) went surprisingly better than I expected (I am sure my climate/humidity controlled chocolate room contributed to this)

I poured the samples in 2"x2"x2" mold (each cavity is 1/4 lbs block) and  I was able to obtain fairly descent shine and snap.  I need to keep practicing with a larger quantity to ensure better and consitent results. 

Thanks for your encouragement!

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Way to go!  Keep at it, hand tempering will be one of the most useful things you can learn if you plan to be in chocolate.  It's not nearly as terrifying as many belive it to be 8-)

Digital thermometers, climate control, youtube videos sure helps

Thank you again Sebastian, you just saved me a decent chunck of change to spend on a tabletop full auto, I owe you on this one!

Good job - looks great. Tempering is all about practice and learning to see when the chocolate is doing what it should be. 

If you happen to run into trouble in the future, you could always try and find a local chocolatier and pay them for a 2-hour tutorial (seeing it "hands on" is sometimes useful).

Edit to add: I notice you do a lot of two ingredient chocolate (no added ccb or lecithin). You might find these don't look/feel the same as chocolate that does have those ingredients when tempering. In particular, it tends to be thicker while working on the table.

You can also just use your Chocovision to temper. I temper test batches in it regularly with no seed. I just set the cooling temp lower and it works well. You could get extra bowls and baffles for quick changeovers. Definitely not as fast as hand-tempering, but another option.

This is a great idea Ben! .. and I have already an additional bowl & baffle as well!

How many degrees lower do you usually cool it down?

I usually go down to 82F or so.

All -

The Chocolate Wave is a new product I saw at the FCIA meeting in January in San Francisco.

The circular granite or marble base rotates and you use a scraper to move the chocolate around. The IR thermometer tells you when you've reached the right temp. You can do 3-4kg chocolate at a time, very quickly, and it's supposed to be easy enough to learn to use in under 30 minutes.

This Chocolate Way looks to be a great option when working with small quantities of many different kinds of chocolate - including chocolate that does not have seed. It should also work for chocolates that are hard to temper, including two-ingredient chocolates, and doesn't require seeded cocoa butter, which changes the recipe.

Another place I think that the Chocolate Wave has application is front of house -it's pretty hypnotic to watch in use, and if put in a location that's highly visible would attract a lot of attention (traffic == sales).

If you're interested you can contact me - I have an arrangement with the inventor/manufacturer. Ex-works price is £3950.

Agree Clay it is a nice looking front-end machine (and pricey as well - I can buy a Savage 50 lbs fully auto for this price )

I am going to work with the EZt (with Milk & White based) and hand tempering/seedless tempering on the Chocovision (for Single Origin Dark couvertures) and take it from there.

Many thanks!

Tony

Tony -

I don't disagree with your points.

However the value in the Chocolate Wave is the ability to work with lots of different chocolates quickly and easily with fast cleaning which means minimal times between batches. Can't do that with a 50lb Savage tank, and the Chocovision machines are not fast. EZTemper is a good option but you expressed worry about changing the fat content of recipes.

The cleaning thing is why you probably would not want a small continuous tempering machine as complete cleaning beteween batches might be easy, but it's not fast.

Agree Clay. I am keeping this option open depending on the volume I reach.