With three kinds of chocolates available in the market, there’s no lack of supply for chocoholics. There’s the dark chocolate that has cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, and a variable amount of sugardepending on how manufacturers want them to be bitter. Sometimes, vanilla is added to enhance the flavor.

With the same ingredients, semi-sweet chocolates are made by adding milk. But white chocolates are different because there’s no cocoa liquor in its makeup. Experts do not consider the latter as chocolate because of it but you temper them as well because cocoa butter, while it contributes much to chocolate creaminess can also ruin it if chocolate’s not tempered properly.

Tempering increases not only the shelf life but above all imparts shine, snap, creamy texture and heat resistance to chocolate candy. Tempering prevents blooming too so that chocolates isn’t dull and gritty.

Artisanal chocolatiers prefer only manual tempering and they have the required expertise and patience for it. They often temper with a marble-slab to slowly lower chocolate temperatures. But manual tempering can be quite complex because incremental decreases or increases in correct chocolate temperatures or incorrect mixing will ruin chocolates because type V crystals won’t be allowed to form. You also can’t retain temper for a longer stretch so you dip and mold under pressure.

All these issues are sidetracked when you use tempering machines because not only are they designed to create only the type V crystals desirable in tempering (they make chocolates glossy and firm), they’re also able to monitor and maintain temperatures at proper levels with just a computer chip. If you face space constraint and moisture problem, you can also use these tempering machines as they can fit on any kitchen counter-top.

Large quantity chocolate production can sometimes yield inconsistent quality products, especially when tempering chocolates by hand. To eliminate this risk, you need a chocolate tempering machine as it can temper up to 10 pounds of chocolate weight every time you crank them up. But before buying one, you’ll need to study how long the machine’s in use and the number of people using it.

The Revolation 1 from ChocoVision’s ideal for complete beginners. It can temper 1.5 pounds of chocolates per load. An ACMC Tabletop Temperer can deal with six pounds of chocolates and comes with a removable stainless steel bowl, a digital thermometer, front control panels and digital displays, and 100-watt lamps that produce the heat needed during the tempering cycle.

If you want to shift to a tempering machine from manual tempering, the Revolation 2 is for you. It has similar features as the Rev 1 but you’ll also get a digital temperature display, overnight standby mode and a pausing option in the process.

A Revolation x3210 is suitable for those who work with chocolate weights up to ten pounds. It can accurately gauge the tiniest of temperature changes, pause tempering, or let chocolate stand tempered all through the night for next day’s use.