COCOA MILLING

Background / Requirement

Cocoa beans are the seed beans from the large fruit pods of the cocoa tree native to Mexico and Brazil. The beans are then dried and shipped to point of processing where they are then roasted to develop the flavour and increase the fat content. The hard shells are then removed and the seeds are further processed to produce a number of different products such as bitter chocolate, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor and cocoa powder.

Comil Performance 1.  Sugar/Cocoa Blend   Purpose: To mill sugar cocoa blend to 100% minus 40 mesh U.S.S. leaving a free flowing powder with no lumps and even dispersion of sugar.   Result: 100% minus 40 mesh U.S.S. at 8,000 pounds per hour. No lumps present and the final product was a homogeneous blend of fine cocoa and fine sugar.     2.  Cocoa Cake Solid, circular cake that is formed after the cocoa liquor has been pressed out (compacted, fused cocoa solids).   Purpose: To mill cake to as fine a particle size as possible.   Result: 90% through a 200 mesh U.S.S. sieve from an initial 3/4" infeed size at 500 pounds per hour.     3.  Cocoa Chips Fine cocoa powder with 1/2 inch pieces of hard but friable cocoa chips.   Purpose: To size reduce the heat sensitive cocoa chips to a fine powder and blend them into properly sized cocoa.   Result: 98% through a 35 mesh U.S.S. sieve at a rate of 2,000 pounds per hour.