I roasted 4 lbs (12 cups) of cocoa tonight. I really need to get my drum roaster finished. I think it will give a much better end product. This batch was done in the oven, distributed between two shallow dishes. I preheated to 425 F and put the beans in. 

I need to find a way to get the sugar smooth enough without milling. I am really trying to avoid the whole milling/refining thing all together, but I guess it is done for a reason. Actually, I still hold out hope as there are huge differences between large scale and home scale. We will see.

This desire to make chocolate at home all started through a rather circuitous route. I roast my own coffee at home. I got into it because of a gift from my partner a couple of years ago (Yule 2001). It was a coffee roaster called a Fresh Roast, plus a sample pack of 8 different beans from the best