Forum Activity for @Alek Dabo

Used with a frame and an hydraulic jack (manual or electric) this piston allows to extract about 1 lb of cacao butter out of 3 lbs pounds of cacao liquor, depending on the beans. The piston was made for Mindo Chocolate. I have used it only 3 times with a 20 Tons jack and it works fine, and better still if you heat the piston.

I am selling because I have stopped using cacao butter in my chocolate. The whole item weight 19 Lbs.

 Piston-000.jpg - 341KB

Hello Karen,

Thanks for your email. The machine is less than 5 years but Design & Realisation has not changed the model because it is sturdy and efficient. I have indeed all the parts, but there is no manuals. Operating it is very simple. You put water inside the base so that when the pan is in it, the water is around the sides. You can either put solid chocolate inside and let it melt via the electric heating system, or put already melted chocolate at about 45 Celcius (depending on the cacao percentage). Then you put the wheel in place and start it turning. Adding the gutter-like tap helps the chocolate cool down faster. Once the temperature is down to tempering level (around 30 Celcius) you heat the water again so that it stays slightly above that level while you work with the chocolate. You can see at the end of my video how it works -Faire son chocolat - 

I bought in Montreal where my kids live. I am selling it because after 3 years in the Dominican Republic (where cacao beans are great) for work other than cacao, we are moving for one year to a place without cacao. This will be our last foreign posting. Out plan is to then start a fully fledged chocolate business on a larger scale.

More details on the machine is available at https://www.dr.ca/melters-temperers

I hope this answers your questions. Do not hesitate to ask.

Alain

Hello Marta,

I am physically in the Dominican Republic, but sends via US Postal Service.

The wheel is necessary to use the melter as a Tempering machine because it mixes your chocolate and more importantly, speeds-up the cooling process. This is how I used it, sometimes leaving the chocolate inside for a week. As shown on the photo, I've cut the cover to be able to let the wheel in place. No problem if you don't want the vibrating table, but the wheel is what makes it a tempering machine. The price would go down 400.

You can my process atFaire son chocolat

Where are you? Looking forward to reading you.

US$ 1,850 - 40 Pound batch Tempering machine from " Design & Realisation ". 110 Volts US plug. Comes with wheel and vibrating table. In good condition. Works perfectly. Shipping in the U.S included

 P1080280.jpg - 579KB

Hello Adir,

The Montreal based company chocolatchocolat at http://www.chocolat-chocolat.com/home/ has a wide variety of quality molds and with the CND $ where it is, the prices are good.

As for the grinder, I find the tilting capability rather important.

Good luck

Thank you very much Clay for this detailed and thought provoking reply. 

I do produce from Beans (I don't do pastry using chocolate pallets) and use a Spectra grinder. I am not concerned by the look at all and am working on an Island where spare parts are harder/costlier/lengthier to get (but not impossible). So My first concern is definitely reliability of the hardware. Although I now have 3 plantations I buy from, I have noticed the beans are never completely the same in terms of fat percentage and therefore viscosity. So I need to be ready for the "heavy duty" mix that would require both a solid engine and ball bearings. Which brand(s) and or models do you believe best meet these 2 major criteria?

Finally, do you think batch tempering with a machine like the Savage, is more flexible and provides better result, for the bean to bar maker? In other words, that these archemedian screws are suited for standard conditions only?

Thank you again,

I am looking for my first continuous tempering machine - around 12kg capacity - and would like to widen my options beyond FBM and Selmi which can be seen in many chocolate workshop in the Americas. What about Pomati? Since all the makers are Italians, how is customer service in the US? I found Savy Goiseau in France and others in Switzerland and Germany but they only have large machine. Any US alternative?

Thank you very much.

Price :US$ 2.000 + shipping

Batch Tempering machine from " Design & Realisation " as in https://www.dr.ca/tf20-chocolate-tempering-machine-20kg-44lbs.html . Capacity 44 Lbs (20Kg).

Comes with the Moulding wheel as in https://www.dr.ca/moulding-wheel-for-tf20-chocolate-tempering-machine.html

Some blemishes due to usage. Works perfectly. Full process can be seen atFaire son chocolat

The vibrating table comes with the Tempering machine.

Estimated shipping cost to the US $ 80

 Tempering whell.jpg - 164KB

I bought the small Mindo press. It is just like in the Youtube Video.
It worked fine with a 20 Ton Jack but it is messy, takes a lot of time, requires a hot environment and to heat the cylinder for good results. I have used this piston/cylinder twice, and got 650Gr of nearly white butter out of 1.5Kg of liquor. 
However, I am happy to have now found a local producer of Cacao butter who uses organic fermented beans (most don't) and have not used the cylinder since. It is a lot of work for seemingly a small result. 

Hello,

I'm interested by your 3 Kg Roaster. Could you give some details, please. When you bought it, the shipping weight, photos etc.. I'm also reachable at alek@cacaoauthority.com.

Thank you

Hello Primal chocolate!

I've sent you an email at the address. Looking forward to reading your answer.

Alek

Hello Georg,

I would like some details about your Kleego 100 for sale. How long have you had it? Dis you use it for concging or only melting? What are you using instead? Where will it be shipped from? I am interested for a project in Haiti. (I 'll have it shipped to Miami where the equipment is centralized) and of course the price. I'm reachable at aboville@gmail.com I'm looking forward to reading your answer.

Alek

Hello Nat,

I am interested in the ECGC-65 because we want to start producing chocolate in Haiti. However we are centralizing the equipment in Miami, so the shipping would be to Miami. How many of these did you / do yo have? Does you mdel have a chain ( what type) or a belt? You say you've change the stones already. Does the bottom stone slab get thinner as well? What model are you buying to replace that one?

Could you contact me at alek@donalek.com for further details. Thank you very much

Hello, 

Is your Machine still available? 

Of yes,  where are you located? And do you have a spec sheet and photos?

Thank you very much.

Alek 

Very late and this is the whole story of making the chocolate. But it include the winnower in action.

Miracle cacao02

Bye,

Hello,

Although I make sure to winnow thoroughly I am wondering if the few remain husk/skin left on the nibs result in an acid aroma, or other type. Thanks for your experience.

I want to thank you all for these extremely useful comments, explanation, tips and remedies. Brad's comment stressing that there is no boiler plate and that "rule of thumb" is the guiding principle is a perfet conclusion. I have reached succes about 50% of the time so far, with better results with fatter beans from Granada and Trinidad in which I do not add cocoa butter. The Dominican beans are rather "dry" and I add up to 8% butter. I do leave the chocolate at 29 degre C for 2 hours before warming it up again and I leave the mould in the open in an A/C room at approx. 22 degres, but not under the fan. That works betes so far. Thank you again

Hello,

I have been tempering for while. Beans from Grenada worked perfect. But recently I'm having problems. I use a 20Kg tempering machine with rectangular tank and revolving disk to mix. I then place the molds in the fridge at about 8 C. When I take them out and unmold, all bars are shinny and great. But after one day some become bloomed and pale and develop a powdery texture. What puzzles me is that within the same 4 bar mold, 2 could be perfet and 2 bad. 

The chocolate is made with Hispaniola beans (low butter content) and yes, there is humidity as I'm doing this in the ODminican Republic. Any idea of what I'm doing wrong? Thanks for your help

 temperBAD.jpg - 452KB

Hello Stephane,

I see you're packaging search is nearly one year old. I am looking for the same packaging for my bars. Have you found the right supplier? Thank you

Yes, I have visited many plantations in many countries and know about the reliability of isolated small production centers. The advantage of being in Santo Domingo is that I can drive up to the CONACADO center. For that particular batch, the beans were from the Monte Plata region and had been fermented 8 days in November. However, I was not impressed by the CONACADO "processing center". Very untidy, broken bags laying around, weak traceability etc. 

I know the DR has wonderful beans but have not found them yet. "Amano" does an amazing chocolate bar with beans from a region they call "Dos Rios". But there are many "two rivers" regions here. Do you know where I could buy "great" beans" in the DR? The rainy season is getting to a close and production is going to increase soon. Thks for yoru help

Thks Sebastian. Yes the hispaniola beans are well fermented and dry. Remaining "natural" is crucial to me, I cannot have traces of ammonium or Polyglycerol in my recipe. Even Soy may put-off some. And I want to be as "local product" as possible.

However, I'll try adding 0.5% to my next batch.

Thank you all. Very interesting info. After a few sucessful 20 Kg batches of "Hispaniola" and "Grenada" Trinatarios I'm running in some viscosity issues (too thick). First the hunidity level here in the Dominican Rep. is very high and I had decided to limit the added cocoa butter to 3-4%. Reading these posts, I would like to try adding emulsifier. Where can I buy organic soya lethicin ? What are the alternatives to soy lethicin?

Thanks

Hello Justin,

Thank you very much for these details.

However, I cannot see on your product presentation page at http://www.santabarbarachocolate.com/wholesale-bulk-chocolate-brazil-dark-dipping-chocolate-melting-chocolate-25lb-p-186.html?osCsid=3191015b776c997a1fedb96b0dda4df4

the word " compound" and nowhere does it say that this product contains something that is not chocolate like palm butter . Furthermore confusing to me, it says that it is like couverture but only does not require tempering - "Santa Barbara Chocolate's Dark Dipping Chocolate works just like a couverture chocolate but the only difference is that it doesn't require tempering."

You are right, Palm butter is not evil, Brazialin cacao may be of high quality and of course there is a market for this product, considering its non-tempering characteristics and its price/quality ratio.

If we agree on this, why not clearly describe every ingredients in your product. Most chocolate bars detail what they are made of, including that they've been made on machines that sometimes handle nuts. I am not the only one to beleive that the only way to build trust is through full disclosure.

Sincerely,

Alek

Thank you very much Sebastian and Larry. I understand very well.

So, this is closer to lying that advertising since they do not mention "compound" or the fact that this is not a 100% cacao product. At $139 for 25 Pounds I should have guested something was wrong compared to Valrhona or Tcho's prices. I did not know Santa Barbara chocolates at all before I stumbled on this ad. I will not buy from a company that "omits" to describe the truth about their product.

Thanks again for the explaination

Hello,

Santa Barbara Chocolate sells Brazilian and other origin chocolates and claims it does not need to be tempered. What process or ingredient can acheive that?

What are the draw back?

Although I occassionally fail the tempering process, I do find it that complex.

Thank you.

http://www.santabarbarachocolate.com/wholesale-bulk-chocolate-brazil-dark-dipping-chocolate-melting-chocolate-25lb-p-186.html?osCsid=3191015b776c997a1fedb96b0dda4df4

Great idea. I'll let you know with photos when I get it going. I'm not sure how easy it'll be to get a ball valve in Santo Domingo. Maybe Amazon.

That's great, because I ordered the Dust Deputy fromoneida after winnowing to protect my shopvac. You're saying I should instead hook it air-tight to the husk exit, right?

I will put a video this W.E. The good thing about this set-up is that you immediately see what falls in the husks and can adjust the air intake. So, provided you manage a fairly consistent intake of beans from the juicer or manually, the result is really good. I did 8 Kg of roasted beans in 15 min.

My only issue is that I need to stop the vaccum cleaner in order to empty the husks side and that breaks the rhythm. Not sure if/how I could do that.

By strictly following the measurement and plan from the realseeds.co.uk you'll get a perfect wooden winnower on the cheap. The wood material is attractive and the plexiglass front provides a show as well allowing to check what really happens.

The non-existence of the $100 chocolate bar tells a lot abou the level of development of the chocolate business.

It is true that marketing/ranking/the press are sometimes the only justification for a wine to sell for several hundred dollars, but I beleive the usual reasons are the offer/demand ratio and the intrinsic difference/characteristics of the wine.

A bottle of say, "Chateau Latour" from the Medoc region of Bordeaux never sells for less tha $300 per bottle "young" because, by law Chateau Latour cannot produce more than a certain volume of wine per hectare and because, yes its tastes unique. The wineyard next door will look like the Chateau Latour, but tastes different and is easily identifiable. So when the rich Chinese who likes the taste wants a bottle, he is competing with the rich Americans, Indians Russian etc.. Add to this the "banking" characterics of quality wine that make it predictably increase in value over the years and the resulst are these astronomical prices.

Now, to cacao. Producers of high quality cacao beans are mostly small owners in hard to get places of the world. They have no organized structure beside a State controled entity that cares more to the volume producers than the fine bean plantor. Even if they find a chocolate producer ready to pay the high price for the beans, they have little recognition because the "Chocolatier" in Europe or the U.S. will promote his name rather than the (small) producer or producers. Then, although growing, the demand for chocolate is not as high as for wine, in part because people are not exposed to the same permament marketing and social pressure that wine enjoys. Add to this teh lack of exposure through magazines, exhibitions etc.. and you have the current price levels.

Clay, I think the $100 chocolate bar will only happen when a global ecosystem has been built. And this will take more than 5 years.