First of all, pumps are unreliable. Different temperatures in the shop (or where the bottle was stored) can affect how much chocolate actually comes out per pump. Adjust to taste, that's the best advice I can give you. Using a squeeze bottle and knowing what the proper amount of chocolate looks like is some of the best advice I was ever given.
I started to just make my own chocolate eventually. Cocoa, sugar, vanilla extract and sometimes other things. It was fun to experiment and I ended up coming up with different recipes for different customers/drinks.
Try different brands... maybe experiment around with your own recipe. As long as it tastes great to you there are no problems. Some brands I think are worth checking out are Guittard and Ghiradehli. They are both easy to find and easy to experiment around with.
Perhaps others will jump in with other brands or suggestions.
HTH -Bry
Bryan Wray
"I just hope that people realize that coffee is not just a caffeine delivery service, it can be a culinary art." -Christopher Owens
txmg Senior Member Joined: 25 Dec 2007 Posts: 7 Location: Minnesota Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri Jun 20, 2008, 8:25am Subject: Re: Mocha
I've been buying Starbucks powder in a can. They have them at least at my local Starbucks. It's very good. I tried Ghirardelli with a shot of vanilla, but didn't like it as much. If you get the Starbucks can, they have the recipe on the can. Not to brag, but my mochas are now officially better than Starbucks - which for me is saying a LOT because I used to live for my morning Starbucks mocha. Now I'll bypass them not because of $$(my original motivation in making them at home), but I just like mine better. I use the Intelligentsia Black Cat espresso beans - 2/3 decaf 1/3 caff.
see if you can get your hands on some guitard mocha. It's my favorite. My coffee shop switched from that to Monin (which tastes more like hershey's) because it's a lot cheaper. Guitard is not as sweet and a lot more complex. I don't like mochas that often, but when I do that's the best stuff.
As far as how much to use, it's your coffee experience bro. Put in as much or as little as you like.
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