artisansweets

Thanks for sharing! I love the clean, modern look. The way he displays the chocolates really make them seem like works of art - which they are indeed. Thanks again.

I just got a sample pack in the mail from Murnane and they had exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the suggestion and no one need look any further!

I'll check them out as well. Thanks for the post.

I tried all the bars they are making currently. 91% Venezuela, 75% Ghana, Panama & Ecudor, 75% Ivory Coast, 84% Ghana, 65% Madagascar. I enjoyed them all very much. I especially enjoyed the 91% from Venezuela. They are worth a try. I was very satisfied with their quality and like I said before I really value their commitment to accentuate the pure cocoa flavor by not adding anything else to their chocolate except sugar (they use organic beet sugar because they think it has a more subtle flavor than cane sugar) and sometimes extra cocoa butter. Currently I use Valrhona 70% Guanaja in my pastries and chocolates. I like the intensity of this chocolate although it does not have an unpleasant astringent taste that often coincides with high percentages - that I've found. I have been "doing" pastry as a career for 3 1/2 years now - I'm still a newbie. All that to say... I think you should give them a try. I would be curious to hear what you thought after a more intentional tasting.

Sorry to interupt.... just wanted to say that I recently took a tour of the Theo facility in Seattle and purchased each one of their Theo bars to sample. I am quite pleased. First of all they taste great and their commitment to respecting the true integrity of the cocoa bean is impressive. I hope to give a much more thorough review on my blog soon. (Not trying to do shameless self promotion but here's my blog if anyone will be interested to read the post. http://artisansweets.wordpress.com)

YEAH!!! This company looks like it may be the one. I just ordered some samples. Thanks so much for solving this mystery.

I can't seem to find brown candy pads on the internet. I know they must be out there... does anyone have a resource?

wow now I'm even more excited to get my copy on Thursday. I did also just receive a copy of Making Artisan Chocolates tonight. Two new chocolate books in one week.... pretty much a great birthday. Oh and I'm going to visit the new chocolate factory in Seattle, Theo, on Thursday as well. A very Happy Birthday indeed. Thanks for building my excitement even more... this is a great thread!

Thanks for the info. That helps. I do feel quite underqualified... but at the same time I know I can create desserts that are far better than anything I've seen served at a restaurant in my town. The question is do the restauarant owners see value in that. I was trained at Spago where they do 50% dessert sales... that's practically unheard of... but the desserts were amazing!! Thanks again.. any information helps at this point.

I am so impressed by everyone's chocolates. A couple questions... what type of color is mixed with cocoa butter that goes on the chocolates? I know at chef rubber you can buy the individual colors but is there a cheaper route? Also, when using the lustre dusts do you put the dust in the mold and then fill in with chocolate? I've been really getting into making chocolates lately so to do a little research my husband ordered me a box of chocolates from MarieBelle and Boule bakery. Product research is delicious and very educational. Edited: After continuing to read this forum and it's links my questions have been answered. Thanks!.. so informative.

I increased the temp. of my chocolate and they turned out beautifully. Thanks again for the advice. Such fun!!!

I am looking to get into doing some pastry consulting. The town that I live in has no pastry chefs and the desserts speak to that. Therefore I see a great need for consulting. Does anyone have any experience with this? I have so many questions... pricing, procedure, etc. Thanks in advance.

great! thanks again. I'll give that a shot. I am making quite a few chocolates on Wednesday so I can test out these new tricks I've learned!!

Great! Thank you so much. I am excited to try it out. I am using the Revolution X machine to temper. I tried adjusting the temp. because I thought that could have been my problem. When I pressed the adjustment button the temperature reading did not change. Are you familiar with this machine? Should it show an immediate temp. change? Thanks again. I will report back, hopefully with more success.

John DePaula, First of all, thank you so much for this demo. It inspired me so much I went ahead a bought a bunch of transfers and a magnetic mold. I had my first attempt yesterday. After my first couple of runs I now have a couple questions. My first run the cocoa butter transfer did not adhere to the chocolate at all. The second time I did your trick of painting the mold first... I had more success but it still didn't transfer all the way. Any other tips? Should I adjust the temp. of the chocolate (mine was at 88.7*) I placed the mold in the fridge just so they were easier to pop out... could that be the problem? I would appreciate any tips you may have. Thanks again. Your chocolates were so beautiful!!