The ball mill is normal in commercial chocolate production, it scales more efficiently than other methods. Not sure I'd want to clean one in my own kitchen thou

The ball mill is normal in commercial chocolate production, it scales more efficiently than other methods. Not sure I'd want to clean one in my own kitchen though. The commercial units are plumbed for sanitization and flushing out. There's a lot of work involved in chocolate production. It's not complicated, mostly tedious and particular, and requires either specialized equipment or sustained physical effort. The best source of information I know is Chocolate Alchemy's old school website ( https://chocolatealchemy.com/ https://chocolatealchemy.com/ ). I was active in the same homeroasting circles he was at the time he took an interest in chocolate, and it was a really fascinating process to watch unfold. If you're curious, don't let the full bean-to-bar process scare you away. It's easy to rough out something pasty that's entirely unlike a chocolate bar with a mortar and pestle and not a ton of work, and that can work well in cooking or brewed up in a hot drink. Oven roasted cacao, peeled and smashed into nibs can be infinely nicer than store bought. Anyway, the whole conching, melanging, and tempering process is optional if you just want to experiment.