NUBIE here...! Which is the best Melanger to buy... For a medium sized business.... 20 to 30 pound…

@chocolateadam –

Larger melangeurs are available from several sources, including SpectraPlaza (Santha) and Diamond Custom.

There are a number of other approaches for making chocolate – melangeurs are just one of them. What is the most appropriate for you depends on what you want to make–and how much in what time frame. Moving to a larger melanguer may not be the most efficient way to scale up.

Who supplies machines that are a step up from the 70lb Cocoatown? What is the most cost effective solution for the next scale up beyond that? Are they of the same quality/reliability?

@LoveThatChocolate – Happy to help. If you want an introduction to SpectraPlaza (who are importing Santha) please let me know. I can’t offer a special discount, but I do get brownie points for referrals!

Thank you….

@LoveThatChocolate – Welcome to TheChocolateLife!

Most of the melangeurs made these days have batch capacities of 5kg (10lbs) or under or 35kg (70lbs) or over. I took a quick look at the websites for Diamond Custom and Cocoatown to confirm this.

That leaves Spectra Santha (santhausa.com) as the only company I am aware of who is selling grinders in the mid-size you are referring to. They have both 20 and 40lb capacity machines.

If you are just starting out then these are the options available to you in the size range you’re looking for. However, it’s really hard to have a sustainable, profitable, business with just one melangeur of this size. The way to scale up production is not to buy many small machines. So, I would take a look at how you plan to grow and then purchase for future growth out the starting gate, if you have the financing.

All other things being equal, I recommend either direct or chain drive over belt drive.