Blogs

Here's a few new additions to the Cacao Cucina equipment line. We've updated our PLC touch screen controls on both the CM Chocolate Makers and the TM Tempering Machines. The Chocolate Sifter has been added to screen liquor or finished chocolate for optimal smoothness. We now offer an automatic infeed for hands-free feeding of our Winn-15 or Winn-45 Cocoa Bean Winnower. Lastly, the Cocoa Bean Micronizer has been introduced for conditioning raw beans to winnow effectively, prior to nib roasting applications. For more information, please write Addam at addam@cacaocucina.com. Thanks!

New Features Available on our Cocoa Butter Press!

We've just completed and shipped our first series of upgraded Artisan Butter Presses. Upgrades from the original design include a 75 ton air over hydraulic press and a six stage programmable PLC controller.

Hello,

Here's a sneak peek at a new machine in development for the Cacao Cucina line. Though designed for the removal of chocolate from grinding media, the Chocolate Sifter can be used in a variety of sifting applications. Stay tuned to CacaoCucina.com for more updates.

Stop by YouTube and check out our latest video!

After receiving a cocoa pod from our friends at the Festival of Chocolate in West Palm Beach, we decided to try a germination experiment with the seeds. As you know, Florida is a little too far north to grow productive cacao trees, but with a little TLC, we're hoping to get a few decent-sized plants. Our first step was to open the pod and place each seed inside of a Jiffy pellet. As you can see in the slideshow, we're starting to get our first sprouts.

Cacao Cucina gave an educational presentation as part of the 2011 West Palm Beach Festival of Chocolate, to give festival-goers an overview of the chocolate making process. If you are an educator, and would like an outline of this presentation, please Email addam@cacaocucina.com

Hello there, here are a couple short videos on our latest TM-10 Tempering Unit. The TM-10 is a self-contained batch tempering machine with removable agitator blades for enhanced clean-ability. For further info, please drop me a line at addam@cacaocucina.com. Thanks!

Here's a quick video of a baffle we made for our lab roaster. This blocks off a portion of the basket, making it possible to roast smaller quantities of beans. If you have an RO-15 and would like a drawing of this part to fabricate your own baffle, drop me a line at addam@cacaocucina.com.

Here's a brief stock footage compilation that shows various stages of the cocoa bean in transformation from raw bean to press cake and cocoa butter. Being new to the chocolate making process, I've found this to be particularly interesting. Each stage evokes a very distinct set of sensory transactions. Obviously the two most important are taste and smell, which due to technical limitations of the media, cannot be conveyed in this video.

Addam