The winnowing of beans and thoughts

In winnowing the Dominican cacao beans, so the same began happening to my thoughts. It starts in monotony, crushing the beans with rolling pins or big flat wooden spoons until the nib is first exposed and the husk separated. After a batch has been crushed such that there are few whole beans, the material is transferred into the winnower. The winnowed material provides for one of the first true tasting opportunities. Upon trying the Hacienda Jean Marie Puerto Rican nibs utilized in the 58% 1st batch, one of the premier palates at SchMucks immediately flagged banana. She was right of course and the flavor persisted through to the bar. Also displaying her timeliness and interrupting my thought, the aforementioned SchMuck requests a bar from the 1st batch and so #12 is opened and we try it. Not a perfect temper on this particular bar. Nevertheless, there is depth and it is hard not to eat through the whole thing. There are precious few and we decide to save some for later. The in process Oko Caribe Dominican nibs are a bit more roasted resulting in a darker and smokier profile. They should lend well to the ultimate coffee creaminess we are going for in the “50/50 Breakfast Bar”.

There is still more crushing and winnowing to be performed before we advance to the melanging, but it is late. I remain optimistic that a 2nd batch will be produced this weekend. The beans are safe and sealed for tonight. Their smell lingers in the air and on my hands. If you have touched them as a SchMuck does, they call out to you. They wish to be turned to chocolate. A SchMuck does not ask why. Rather, they oblige.