at Tue, 16 Aug 2005 04:20:19 GMT in <1124166018.869083.109340
@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, wrote :

>Hi,
>
>My wife and I run a popular cafe in Malaysia as my full time business.
>
>We find that we consume alot of chocolate powder - which we primarily
>use in the making of hot and iced chocolate drinks, not to mention the
>iced and hot mochas, etc...
>
>And we pay suppliers through our teeth for chocolate powder.
>
>Looking on the packets supplied to us, I notice that the ingredients of
>in the chocolate powder we purchase are as follows:
>
>- sugar
>- cocoa (20%)
>- milk solids
>- wheaten starch
>- starch
>- flavour
>
>It seems to be that based on the above ingredients, making our own
>chocolate powder could be a solution in helping us cut our costs, not
>to mention possibly getting a better tasting product.

Undoubtedly. You can formulate to your specifications and furthermore you
can add other flavourings for interest, or delete ingredients for any
reason. And with bulk buying of the ingredients it will certainly be
simpler.

>Can anyone out there please help shed a little more light on what might
>be involved in making our own chocolate powder? How difficult might it
>be?

Very easy. First, experiment with ratios until you get what you want in
terms of flavour and texture. The basic components are cocoa, sugar, and
milk powder. Other things you can add at your discretion. Vanilla is the
most common extra flavour and it does generally improve the depth and
dimension of flavour, much like salt does for savouries. As for the 3 base
ingredients, here's what you might consider:

Cocoa: Dutch (for easier incorporation and low bitterness) or natural (for
stronger flavour and more character)? High-fat (20%) or low (~11%)? High-
fat has better flavour but mixes less readily. What brand?

Sugar: Powdered, superfine, or granular? The finer the grind, the smoother
the incorporation. However, powdered usually has cornstarch unless you're
specific in what you order, and this will cause some issues when stirring
in large amounts of water. White or brown?

Milk: Full-fat, partially defatted, or nonfat? The nonfat has longer shelf
life at the expense of flavour. Instant or non-instant? Expect some work
mixing non-instant with water (you can't add all the water all at once),
but far better ultimate texture and flavour.

Once you've decided on ingredient ratios, the procedure is simple: Dump
contents into a Zip-Loc. Shake vigorously. Spoon out as desired. You do
need to make sure you've got your contents well mixed but with good bag
shaking, that should be easy. If you're using the high-fat cocoas and non-
instant milk (especially full-fat), you need to mix the powder thus
measured with an equal amount of cold water, stir into a paste, and then
*gradually* add hot water, stirring continuously. With instant milk and
low-fat cocoa, you'll pretty much be able to dump the contents straight
into hot water and have it mix OK.

*My* ideal ratio is 2 parts high-fat natural-process cocoa, 2 parts non-
instant whole milk powder, and 1 part sugar. This is *strong* stuff. I add
enough water to reconstitute the milk to normal dilutions and use the cold-
water paste method. The result is ultra-thick and very strong. People who
like chocolate love it, however, for the lukewarm chocolate person, it will
probably be over the top.
--
Alex Rast

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