From what I have experienced, yes the table top method works better than using a bowl, for me. It gets spread out flat on a marble slab or
stainless steal table and then moved around till it goes down in temp to 27 - 29 etc. working quickly and constant stirring - even temper is key as well. here is the video that helped me the most so far:
Welcome to the club Marc!
Hi Jim,
I deffinetely need advice on the proper start up equipment for my chocolate business. In the moment I have 2 working stone grinders from premier tilt and the rest i do by hand. I melt down the chocolate in the dehydrator when I'm ready to work with it. This takes around 5 hours. Then I temper on the stainless steel table, and poor to bar molds, with some reheating in between as the chocolate cools and becomes too thick to work with. I keep the bowl of chocolate on top of the dehydrator when not using it, to keep it warm.
I would like to be able to produce a few hundred bars a week by getting some eqipment, maybe a temperer and warming tank with precise temp control. A pourer and mold shaker would help as well. Would you be able to reccomend something to start out with?
Thanks for your time,
Sabrina swayder
Hi Gap,
I hope you don't mind some more questions? .... About buying equipment - before hitting the purchase button on Mol D'art 
Are you able to "make it" with the equipment you have now? Or do you have another job? My idea is to buy affordable small scale eqipment to use for as long as I can, maybe a year, till a bank lender will consider me "eligable" for a business loan.
In the moment I sell to two customers - One big one that sells up to 100 of my bars a month, and a tiny chocolate boutique. This is about all I am producing now, using my tequnique of warming the chocolate in a dehydrator during the day, which takes hours. I have a part time job working three days a week, so basically I work everyday
Thanks!
Gap,
This is really good information for me. I have been uncertain about how to simplify and make the process more efficient. I just have two stone grinders that hold 2liters in the moment. Do you think that would be too little to have in a 6l/kg melting tank(2 liters per tank)? I'd rather not get the smallest or the largest either, for now. I just want to make the right decision in purchases while starting out.
Thanks!
Sabrina
