Any More Sugar? Chocolate Question. (Hilo, Lahaina: buy, movies, tax)

[hotzcatz]

Where ever it went to 18 below, it wasn't in Hawaii. We get occasional snow on the tops of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Haleakala but nothing that bitterly cold. And there aren't any crops grown at that elevation, just the observatories.

A friend of mine in Laupahoehoe managed some credible chocolate from cacoa pods, but I'm not sure how she did it. I would think if you can process chocolate you could probably do olives as well.

If you want almond trees to grow in Hawaii, check out Bay Laurel nurseries in California. They provide a lot of "low chill" trees and they will mail to Hawaii. A "low chill" tree is a variety that doesn't need a lot of winter cold in order to produce. There are three or four types of almond which can be grown in Hawaii.

Oregonwoodsmoke, you could probably set up a small chocolate enterprise of some sort, it probably wouldn't be terribly expensive until you wanted to mechanize the process. If the Incans and Mayans managed to make chocolate, I'm sure it's a process which can be recreated. Hand made hand processed is going to be tedious and you'd have to get quite a bit for your end product to make it worthwhile, but it might be fun. Follow your passion, even if you don't make a lot of money you'll have a good time and since we are only here for a limited time, you may as well make it worthwhile in whatever fashion you can. Being passionate about something good is very worthwhile.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I did a brief google on it and it looks like the machinery for a small chocolate manufacturing plant would be about $65,000 to produce about 50 KG a week. So not a big plant. But that doesn't include the building or coolers or other equipment like tables, packaging, transport, or anything required to make chocolates out of the finished chocolate.

To just do homemade chocolate, you'd need a conche machine and those aren't cheap and the small "inexpensive" ones seem to have a lot of complaints about breakage. Conching by hand would be impossible. It takes over 24 hours.

Still, I'm interested and might give it a try. Maybe Leilaniguy and I can work something out, since he has the plants in production already.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Still, I'm interested and might give it a try. Maybe Leilaniguy and I can work something out, since he has the plants in production already.

Hey, I want in on that. I'm an experienced... ummm... taster.

[McFrostyJ]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

I did a brief google on it and it looks like the machinery for a small chocolate manufacturing plant would be about $65,000 to produce about 50 KG a week. So not a big plant. But that doesn't include the building or coolers or other equipment like tables, packaging, transport, or anything required to make chocolates out of the finished chocolate.

To just do homemade chocolate, you'd need a conche machine and those aren't cheap and the small "inexpensive" ones seem to have a lot of complaints about breakage. Conching by hand would be impossible. It takes over 24 hours.

Still, I'm interested and might give it a try. Maybe Leilaniguy and I can work something out, since he has the plants in production already.

If you want to make candy and you decide to stay in Oregon, the Oregon Candy Farm is for sale right now!


http://www.equitygroup.com/p/9/8106197

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Hey, I want in on that. I'm an experienced... ummm... taster.

Taster is a very valuable asset to any company making food. So you are in. The non-existent job in the non-existent company is yours. Salary is also non-existent, but the good will is real.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Taster is a very valuable asset to any company making food. So you are in. The non-existent job in the non-existent company is yours. Salary is also non-existent, but the good will is real.

Fabulous. I think we should get non-existent stock options too. All the cool start-ups do it.

I know!

[hotzcatz]

Whoohoo! I'll be a virtual customer in your virtual company! Fat free chocolate! Zero calories! What's not to like about that?

I could ask Sharon how she made their chocolate. She's very low tech, I'm sure there was no expensive (probably not any) machinery used.

If you had a low speed mixer that ran off solar and solar hot water around the mixing bowl, you'd have a "conching" machine which you could afford to run. Hmm, conching seems to be slowly mixing at a warm temperature for a day or so. Hmm, you could get a big stainless steel drum, put it on a rotisserie and have the lower portion rotate in a bath of solar heated warm water. If it needed an air vent that could be put near the spindle which if the drum wasn't more than half full would always be open.

Frequently, when folks are "starting a business" in Hawaii, they try to start too big and the business can't afford itself. In my previous back yard, there were eight chickens. They didn't get any supplemental feed, they just foraged in the back yard. They provided eggs for us as well as a few to trade to other folks for various things. Eggs were hatched and a few chicks were sold, so there was even some small profits from the chickens above and beyond providing eggs. A friend up the hill tried to start a somewhat similar chicken enterprise and he had one hundred chickens and lost a lot of money since he was buying a lot of feed for them. So, frequently very small businesses will be profitable whereas bigger ones aren't.

So, for your chocolate factory, build some sort of a conching machine, and make small batches of chocolate. Sell that at a farmer's market so you don't have to have a concrete and bricks store and the costs thereof. If you want this to be a valid commercial kitchen sort of thing, let me know, plans can be drawn up. Maybe even for shares in the business. Chocolate is a pretty good motivator! I did some drawings for a candy company on Oahu years ago, their problem was chocolate solidifying in the pipes so a hot water jacket was designed to go around the pipes to keep them heated so the chocolate would keep flowing.

This would also be an agricultural business, so you'd probably be able to get low interest ag loans or even some grants to start up the business. Although, it's better to not have to have a mortgage to repay when starting up but sometimes you can't start without it.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

The conche machine appears to put pressure as well as mix. I'd bet someone with some skills with electricity and building could make one for pretty reasonable. It's not complicated looking. Way beyond my skill set, though.

Not making a joke here. With the interest in chocolate, maybe a bunch of us could form some sort of co-op. It might be fun and even generate a bit of profit. Or at a minimum, we would eat well and have some dynamite Christmas gifts to send to family.

I am still trying to sell my house, but maybe I'll get in touch with you all when I get moved. I've got marketing, recipes, and agricultural skills. It's something that could be done.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

The conche machine appears to put pressure as well as mix. I'd bet someone with some skills with electricity and building could make one for pretty reasonable. It's not complicated looking.

Conching is primarily a step that converts the grittiness to smoothness. It's a grinding step, not a stirring step.

Traditional conch mills used heavy steel rollers, which seem to be still preferred for quality, but ball mills seem to be popular with boutique operations. So I'm thinking something like a big rock tumbler should work for small scale processing.

[PacificFlights]

You would do better starting another Hawaii sea salt company over attempting a chocolate factory. At least you would have minimum overhead compared to a manufacturing plant and nature provides all that is needed in the form of raw material and drying means.

Instead of following a pack that already has been followed by those who followed the follower who went and followed the leader, be the leader!