Hi guys,

I've been tempering chocolate for a while. my chocolate tempers
really well during the winter, but very poor during the warm season.
I find that my chocolate blooms more during the warm season and if it
doens't bloom; it cracks during setting stage. Currently i'm using
guittard and raising the temperature to 115F to 78F to 90F. What do
you guys suggest my temperatures should be for the summer season?

Also, I don't have a way to control the temperature of my kitchen.
It's very dissapointing to find that the chocolate does not temper
well after 2 hours of investment. Though i'm very much of a
traditionalist, i am tempted to purchase a tempering machine. I may
just purchase one. Can you guys suggest any brand for a tempering
machine to me? I've seen machines that go up $2000 and up. But my
budget is far less than that. i"m thinking of $500ish. please let me
know what your suggesions are.


charlotte