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"It is dark as the AlChemist walks along the corridor, rough stone under his feet, air warmed from well smoldering hearth fires stirring his cowl. He opens a hewn timber door, worn smooth at the threshold over years of use. He breaths deeply the comforting smells of this laboratory. Hints of wood and smoke linger in the air from the last time he roasted raw materials for his elixirs. Another smell, heady and almost intoxicating, brings a smile to his face as he remembers the smell wafting up as he was last grinding his pastes and powders. He looks about. Everything is in place. The roasting drum is cool in the hearth. The mortars and pestles are laid out neat and tidy, only a small amount of deep brown paste marring their finish. The cracking mill is sitting ready, waiting for the next batch to be crushed fresh out of the roaster. It is time to begin his magic, his devotion, his passion, his Alchemy, yet again. He prepares himself for the work ahead. The roasting, the cracking, the winnowing, the grinding, the mixing. The transformation of base materials into something more than they were. The transformation of cocoa beans to chocolate, the work of Chocolate Alchemy."
1398185 visits and counting.
It’s a day for announcements Just a lot of things to cover.
I’ll start off with that we have a new bean in, that we have not had in some time. The Co-op has really stepped up consistency, so whereas before, this cocoa bean had a good flavor, you had to work a bit for it. […]
Filed under: Cocoa Beans, Roasting, What's new & Updates, Cracking & Winnowing | No Comments »
OK, you say that they have always been available. Well, true and not true. I have always offered them up to 5 lbs and never as wholesale. That now changes. There are Wholesale Nibs now available. Consider it a test run. Partly, do they sell, or inversely, if they do, can I keep up.
Why am […]
Filed under: Products, Cocoa Beans, What's new & Updates, Cracking & Winnowing, Alchemist's Mussings | 2 Comments »
We are just about out of the delicate and soft Peru. No, I don’t know if any more will be coming in any time soon. So, if you have not tried it and have been thinking about it, now is the time. It probably will not be around next week.
The same is true with the […]
Filed under: Products, Cocoa Beans, What's new & Updates, Cracking & Winnowing | 1 Comment »
Madagascar will be back in stock early next week. I also have a brand new semi-washed (more on that later) Ecuador that is full of clean graham cracker and malt flavors. A couple weeks after that I am going to be offering up four of the current stock as roasted (with small minimums) and see […]
Filed under: Products, Cocoa Beans, What's new & Updates, Cracking & Winnowing, Alchemist's Mussings | No Comments »
Please go take our Winnower poll. I need some customer input.
Thanks.
Filed under: What's new & Updates, Cracking & Winnowing | No Comments »
I did a bit more fine tuning today, plus a whole bunch of observations. I found for the current design, nib introduction, speed, quantity, angle of attack to the air stream and dispersion all have a significant affects on the maximum rate that material can be fed and possibly more importantly, how well separation is […]
Filed under: Cracking & Winnowing | No Comments »
