First Attempt

Okay, so I've started my first attempt at making the chocolate from cacao nibs. I'm not sure that I ground them enough. It was still a little grainy, and not quite liquid when I took it out of the grinder. I also used xylitol instead of sugar. It's a natural sweetener that's actually good for your teeth, and it's supposed to have the same consistency as sugar, so I figured I'd give it a whirl.

So the batch I made last night was an 80% cacao mix. So it was delish, but probably a little too bitter to be the signature. Oh! I also added a little of this vanilla that my friend, Rachel, brought back from Mexico, and it is soo good.

Instead of wasting the batch, I labeled it and stuck it in the fridge. I think I can grind it down a little more, and then maybe it will be ready for tempering. I took it straight from the grinder to the double boiler last night, but it didn't seem to want to act like chocolate yet. So we'll see.

I also have found a supplier that produces the liquor/paste. I contacted them to ask if it's already been sweetened in that form when they supply it, but I haven't heard back from them yet. I'm going to be a real stickler about the sweetener. I want it to be my own concoction, so I really don't want to buy a product that I just have to melt down into molds. I really want to make the chocolate myself. But if I can do that without having to grind the nibs it would save me a lot of time and energy. *Fingers crossed*