I'd have to ask next time I get the chance! The rep seemed convinced that looking for a way to lower copper content was his only route to break the impasse. Maybe it's as you say though, and he just didn't pick up on the subtext of what the official was hoping to receive.
I was speaking with the Asia rep of a chocolate company not too long ago, and he asked me if I might be able to get to the bottom of what his company could do about the fact that his higher percentage bars were being refused by China due to their higher copper content.
Chocolate IS in china, and higher percentage bars are higher in copper, but as for dark chocolate I'm not sure what percentages are most common in this market or if certain ways of making chocolate could help reduce copper. After researching his problem further I have a few hunches as to why China might be concerned about copper content of imported food, but I'm still drawing a lot of blanks. Anyone have any insight?
As a consumer: I use my eyes to determine the signs of care and attention a chocolatier puts into their work. I'm looking for the sheen that indicates good crystallization and correct storage. I look for an absence of bubbles (unless they are an intentional part of the work.)
As far as style goes, shape counts whether it's enrobed or moulded, not just for style but for what the ganache to shell ratio is likely to be. I'll accept the use of a transfer sheet, lustre, or coloured cocoa-butter but they must be used with discretion and purpose, in a way that accentuates the work, or hints at the flavour. Ditto for garnishes. I've seen many a 'dressed up' chocolate that to me is a hot mess visually, and makes me less inclined to try tasting because I'm already sensing a "style over substance" thing going on. Fashion is a tricky game for chocolate to play.
In a competitive market (for example, Paris, London, or Brussels,) I use the (presumed deliberate) absence or presence of these visual cues, hints of attention, and indicators of quality making/handling to try and determine how much of a perfectionist the chocolatier is, as well as whether they might lean more to the natural side or artificial side. This of course helps me to decide if I'd like to buy a taste. When in doubt, I'll usually still pick one or two "benchmark" bonbons... ones that anyone should be able to do but that are inevitably done either incredibly well, or just 'meh'. Stuff like salted caramel or an earl grey infusion.
I personally prefer that a chocolatier rest faithful to "food", (rather than chemicals,) and though you can ask about such things when in a store or do a little digging on your own, you may not get the 100% truth as to whether preservatives are used, etc. In some parts of the world you might not even have the language abilities to ask or understand the answer. If I KNOW a chocolatier is relying on non-natural substances for taste or an unreasonably long shelf life, I automatically don't think of them as a 'fine' chocolatier, and don't expect to pay 'fine' prices.
It doesn't mean I won't try the industrial tastes of the market wherever I go though... as this will tell you a good deal about the local palate for sweets & commercial standards of 'quality' - all things that local chocolatier has to deal with and take into account while trying to sell to their market.
But ultimately, as you've said, taste (and also for me, texture) is king. If I've tried something that shows a good deal of 'promotion' put into the visual aspect, and the product isn't living up to its 'extremely high promise' in my mouth, I'm disappointed. On the other hand, I've had my socks knocked off by small town guys who didn't have anything flashy or colourful on the external display, but just had stuff that looked well made, or possibly some intriguing flavours in their case of plain-but-seemingly-well-constructed bonbons.
Make it well, make it neatly. This is I guess my base standard, with the rest being frills that determine how high you're telling me I should set the bar for you before I've even tasted. Double edged sword, that...
Hey Brandon, I'm pretty sure there's an Italian manufacturer out there that does larger trays (20+) but for the life of me I can't recall their name and can't find them in my bookmarks. If I find it, I'll send it but in the meantime these guys do silicone pop-molds with stick holders too, though it looks like it's only 6-8 molds per tray: http://www.coldmolds.com/pops.html
Silikomart also does silicone pop-molds with stick holders (more per tray than coldmolds, but still not 20+): http://www.silikomart.com.au/all-molds/make-ice-cream-bar/
Any good quality silicone will be stainless & relatively easy to wash/care for.
If you're aiming for bars as your finished product, obviously you'll have to take some liquid out, as fresh milk is largely water and you won't finish with a very solid product.
If I were experimenting with my own supply of fresh milk, I'd be looking at an evaporative/dehydrative process prior to putting it in the santha.
I agree with Sebastian on this one - it really depends how you process and WHO you get your milk from, be it powdered or fresh. Not all milks are created equal, just as not all beans are.
Why not try some small test batches and see for yourself what YOU think about flavour, whether or not the process is worth the outcome, not to mention whether it's viable in your business plan?
I'd be happy to hear your opinions/results!
wow, that's some great growth. But shucks on the you not being much in the kitchen anymore. I was working up the courage to ask if a stge might be possible. I'm really dying to get a closer view on the chocolate making end of things.
Clay - Currently I'm working in R&D for a Belgian Chocolate company. The position affords me a view over processes that have remained quite artisanal for the company as well as ones that have become more mechanized. It has been nothing if not interesting!
Anyone able to offer reviews/have personal experience with their equipment (any item of it?)
While I'm not looking to get into bean-bar right now, I stumbled across their site the other day and thought "This looks too good to be true". So is it?
Just a note about quirky chemistry between cocoa and coconut fats. Mixing these two actually lowers the melting point of your mixture to BELOW the melting point of either fat individually. This is known as a eutectic effect, and will happen when you mix cocoa fats with either coconut fats or palm kernal oil, or any lauric fat, in fact.
Coconut fat has a melting point around 33C/94F
Cocoa butter has a melting point around 34C/94F
Combined, the melting point actually drops well below 33C
We're talking meltaway centres, where the transition in the mouth from solid to liquid state happens VERY quickly, and the transfer of heat that happens in the melt actually leaves the tongue feeling cooled. There is a chocolate candy that makes use of this chemistry... I used to love them when I was 6. They come foil wrapped squares and triangles.
With the drop in melting point for your centres, this could cause a few problems for enrobing/dipping, so you'd have to be more careful if you were going to coat in that manner. Shell moulding would work better with a centre involving coconut fat.
Damion - Thanks! This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. 
Hey Brad - Agave is totally available in Canada. It's actually where I first came across it. Check places where health-food is found. David's tea also has a decent agave at a fairly good price - I ordered some from them since the stuff I've seen here is stupidly expensive.
Has anyone tried using agave syrup as an invert sugar in ganaches?
At first glance, the chemistry seems to work, and I like the idea of a natural, vegan invert sugar that doesn't have as detectable a flavour as honey. The idea of this natural additive to prolong shelf life a little is attractive to me.
Any negative or positive comments on this would be appreciated.
Sorry I missed this, we're about 6 hours apart or more as time-zones go. You've found the candy cutter I was referring to, the rolling adjustable cutter (top picture in your post above.) Hopefully though the home depot tool you've picked up will do the trick or at least help improve the situation.
It's frustrating, I know to have a problem, and to not know how to solve it without going the expensive route, but you'd be surprised how many professional (as in, they COULD totally afford a guitar,) kitchens I've been in that whip out a ruler and knife to do their cutting, or who have found other unique solutions (like silicone ice cube trays,) for shape/size of items produced. Sometimes not buying gear right away is what helps us to learn more about the various ways we can work with our confections. Not always a bad thing!
My advice is to not invest in equipment like a guitar until you have turned a profit on your product. There are a lot of other reasons why your stuff may not be selling, and shape is not the first place I'd look for the answers.
How are you pricing and marketing yourself, and to whom?
Have you gotten honest tasting results from those who have nothing to lose by being brutally honest with you about texture and taste?
Are you able to present yourself and your work with the confidence necessary? (even here in a relatively anonymous space you express doubts about your own work.)
Are the types of candy you are making suitable to your target market?
What I know, is that a guitar is a pricey investment when you don't have signs of profit. If you honestly feel it's shape that's holding you back, well, ok - but I'd go for a candy cutter before going 'all in' for a guitar.
What types of candy are you making, that shape should be such a crucial problem in marketing them profitably?
