American Craft Chocolate
How we make small batches of chocolate
At Tejas Chocolate we make small batches of chocolate that start with special raw cocoa beans. I’m going to take you through the steps of making our typical 35 — 40 lb batch of chocolate.
We source premium cocoa beans from growers like the pictured farmer in Belize. Great cocoa beans come from good genetics, proper care, and skilled processing at the growing region. This is where all good chocolate starts.
Clean & Sort — beans are cleaned of debris and bad beans are culled. This step is done by hand on wooden table.
Roast — Our most critical step for developing great flavor. Cocoa beans are roasted a temperature and length of time best suited for the origin of cacao. We roast in a fired brick oven that is fashioned after a barbecue pit.
Crack & Winnow — Removing the shell of a cocoa bean is tricky. Having good clean cocoa nibs is crucial to making craft chocolate. Our bean cracker and winnower is made with a juicer, plastic pipe, duct tape, and a shop vac.
Melange — We use stone grinders called melangers to refine the cocoa bean to a undetectable particle size. The fat (cocoa butter) naturally in the cocoa bean seperates from the solids creating a suspension of tiny solid pieces in a fat that is liquid at about 82. At the right time, we add cane sugar. Friction from refining cocoa beans and sugar crystals builds heat, and drives off undesirable flavors. This step takes 60 — 80 hours depending on bean, batch, and desired outcome.
The aroma in our chocolate craftory will devour you.
Age — Given ample time to rest the flavor of chocolate will improve. This can be 10 — 45 days depending on the chocolate we are making.
Temper & Mold — Properly aged chocolate is melted and put through a series of temperature adjustments. Our chocolate is melted to 120, then lowered to 84, heated again to 90, and held at this temperature for molding. Tempering chocolate gives it a snappy texture and glossy appearance.
Wrap — The bar is hand wrapped in confectioners foil and our paper wrapper using a post consumer paper product called Tortilla.
I will wrap anything in a corn tortilla and eat it.
So there you have it. A 3 minute recap of craft chocolate making. Did you know it might take 45 days to make a good dark chocolate?
You can find pictures of our process on our website if you would like to see more.
Cheers! Scott
