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Ask the Alchemist, Recipes from the Laboratory

Ask the Alchemist #247

Ask the Alchemist, Recipes from the Laboratory

I have made a hazelnut paste in my melanger.

Ask the Alchemist, Recipes from the Laboratory

Ask the Alchemist, Roasting

Ask the Alchemist #244

Ask the Alchemist, Roasting

I really love your spider charts. Where do you get them and how do I get the flavors you show? My roasted beans never taste like that.

Ask the Alchemist, Roasting

Roasting, Products, Ask the Alchemist

Ask the Alchemist #243

Roasting, Products, Ask the Alchemist

“My goal is simple,” he once said. “It is complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.” He spent much of his career searching for a way to reconcile Einstein’s theory of relativity with quantum physics and produce a “Theory of Everything.”

Roasting, Products, Ask the Alchemist

Cracking and Winnowing, Ask the Alchemist

Ask the Alchemist #240

Cracking and Winnowing, Ask the Alchemist

When I winnow my roasted beans, I find I end up with broadly three groups of material. Obviously a) The nib and B) The husks.

Cracking and Winnowing, Ask the Alchemist

Ask the Alchemist, Roasting

Ask the Alchemist #239

Ask the Alchemist, Roasting

In the picture attached, I have arranged cacao beans: large, medium, and small.

Ask the Alchemist, Roasting

Alchemist's Musings, Ask the Alchemist, Cocoa Beans, Cracking and Winnowing, Grinding, Refining and Conching, Roasting, Tempering

Ask the Alchemist #237

Alchemist's Musings, Ask the Alchemist, Cocoa Beans, Cracking and Winnowing, Grinding, Refining and Conching, Roasting, Tempering

Ask the Alchemist, Roasting

Ask the Alchemist #236

Ask the Alchemist, Roasting

I have some of Criollo beans that have the most intense apple smell but no matter how light I roast it I can’t keep it in the chocolate. How do I keep that flavor in my chocolate?

Ask the Alchemist, Roasting

Ask the Alchemist, Alchemist's Musings, Roasting, Refining and Conching

Ask the Alchemist #235

Ask the Alchemist, Alchemist's Musings, Roasting, Refining and Conching

I've been reluctant to grind for a long time because I thought most volatiles were driven off in first 12 hrs and

Ask the Alchemist, Alchemist's Musings, Roasting, Refining and Conching

Ask the Alchemist, Recipes from the Laboratory

Ask the Alchemist #234

Ask the Alchemist, Recipes from the Laboratory

I’m getting confused on rations between cocoa mass, sugar and cocoa butte. Is there a go to formula in percentages?

Ask the Alchemist, Recipes from the Laboratory

Ask the Alchemist, Roasting

Ask the Alchemist #233

Ask the Alchemist, Roasting

I’ve read all your posts about profile roasting but I’m still not sure where to start. Can you give me just a basic profile that will work for all beans?

Ask the Alchemist, Roasting

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Ask The Alchemist Video Series

The Alchemist is always waiting for your questions and for over a decade has been giving in depth answers to the many common stumbling blocks, problems and fine details Chocolate Makers face daily. In this series we cherry pick some topics that need deeper dives or would be better illustrated from his text series "Ask The Alchemist" which is a mainstay of the site.