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Equipment · Industrial and laboratory plant

Cocoa bean winnower

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A cocoa-bean winnower cracks roasted beans and separates nibs from lighter shell by airflow, often with sieves. Small-scale methods range from tray-and-hair-dryer winnowing to powered machines.

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A stainless-steel cocoa-bean winnower with separate collection pans for dark nibs and pale shell fragments.

From roasted bean to nib

A cocoa-bean winnower separates the shell from the nib after the beans have been roasted and cracked. The kernel fragments that remain are cacao nibs, the material that can then be ground into cocoa mass. Winnowing is a physical sorting step: it does not itself roast, ferment or grind the beans into chocolate.

The supplied recipe-development index names winnowing in the sequence for cacao nibs and chocolate liquor but gives no apparatus description. A 2023 Cacao of Excellence guide supplies a useful distinction between manual, self-made and powered approaches. It does not establish a single historic machine or identify the manual methods as ancient tradition.

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Small-scale manual and improvised methods

For small quantities, the guide documents cracking cacao with a rolling pin and using a hair dryer to blow lighter shell away from the heavier fragments in a shallow tray or bowl. The operator gently tosses the material so more of it meets the air stream. This is a semi-manual method: a common household dryer supplies airflow, while the tray, hand movements and later inspection do the rest.

The same guide illustrates a self-made winnower built from pipe fittings and driven by a vacuum cleaner, with a separate ventilator controlling the flow. Broken beans enter through a hopper; the material can be passed through repeatedly and the outgoing nibs checked. Shells still attached to nibs may need to be removed by hand. These are documented practical approaches, not evidence of an older cultural apparatus or a standard commercial specification.

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Powered machines: crushing and air classification

Commercial and laboratory machines combine controlled breaking with separation. Selmi describes a stainless-steel crushing unit followed by two adjustable air flows that carry peel away from nibs. Its published product page and technical sheet disagree on tank or hopper capacity and hourly rate, so those figures should be confirmed for the exact model rather than blended into one specification. The datasheet names AISI 304 L for food-contact parts, PTFE gaskets, stainless crusher rollers, a 2 kW electric supply and a 110 × 115 × 145 cm footprint.

Bühler's LAB Winnower uses crushing, sieve decks and air classification. Its page describes frequency-controlled crushing, adjustable aspiration and vacuum at each deck, and sampling from the decks to inspect separation. Bühler advertises throughput up to 150 kg per hour for that laboratory machine. This is a different design and capacity from Selmi's bean-to-bar unit; a vendor's maximum is not a general target for cacao processing.

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Choosing and using a winnower

At small scale, a tray and hair dryer need little dedicated equipment but leave more hand sorting. A self-made aspirator adds a feed path and controlled airflow; a powered commercial unit integrates breaking and shell separation for repeated production. The key adjustment is the balance between shell left among the nibs and good nibs lost with the shell stream. Too much crushing creates finer fragments that are harder to separate cleanly, while insufficient cracking leaves larger pieces with shell still attached. The Cacao of Excellence guide therefore emphasizes inspecting the output and removing residual shell rather than assuming that one pass produces a perfectly clean fraction.

For machinery, compare how the model breaks beans, how air and sieves are adjusted, the actual feed and collection arrangement, throughput definitions, power supply, contact materials and cleaning instructions. The figures cited here describe individual manufacturers' products and differ between sources in Selmi's case. No inspected source establishes a single manufacturing origin, global distribution pattern or historical beginning for winnowers as a class.

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History

The supplied RC-V04 intake names winnowing as a step for cacao nibs but describes no apparatus. Cacao of Excellence's 2023 guide documents semi-manual hair-dryer and self-made vacuum/ventilator methods as well as electrical machines; it does not identify these as an ancient or traditional device. Manufacturer pages document current powered examples.

Equipment details

CapacityThe sources give capacities in kilograms rather than litres. Selmi's current product page lists a 5 kg hopper and 50 kg/hour; its PDF datasheet lists a 20 kg tank and 40 kg/hour. Bühler advertises up to 150 kg/hour for its LAB Winnower; models and measures should not be treated as interchangeable.
Size145 cm tall The Selmi datasheet gives 110 × 115 × 145 cm (length × width × height). This is one model's footprint, not a family-wide dimension.
PowerElectric The Selmi datasheet lists 2 kW, 220 V, single phase, 50/60 Hz and a 16 A industrial plug; the Bühler page does not state its power demand.
How you get oneBought, manufactured Current mechanized machines are sold by manufacturers for chocolate-making and laboratory use. Consult the specific maker for configuration, current throughput, installation requirements and price. Semi-manual tray-and-hair-dryer winnowing is a separate small-scale method, not a manufactured winnower model.
CareFor a powered machine, use the maker's model-specific setup, cleaning and maintenance instructions. Cacao of Excellence's guide says to clean and disinfect counters, contact surfaces and tools between batches when using its self-made vacuum-and-ventilator setup; it does not supply a universal cleaning schedule for commercial machines.

Made of

  • Stainless steel — Crushing and food-contact surfaces on documented machines
    Selmi specifies AISI 304 L for food-contact parts and stainless crusher rollers. Bühler describes a fully stainless-steel processing zone. Construction varies by model.
  • PTFE — Gaskets on the documented Selmi model
    Selmi's datasheet specifies PTFE gaskets; this is a model-specific detail.

Limits

Semi-manual hair-dryer winnowing does not remove every shell; the guide calls for a final inspection and removal of shells that remain attached to nibs. Airflow-based separation also trades shell carry-over against nib loss, so settings must match the machine, feed and desired separation.

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Selmi's product page and PDF datasheet report different hopper/tank capacities and hourly rates (5 kg and 50 kg/hour versus 20 kg and 40 kg/hour); confirm current specifications for the exact machine and configuration.

Source →

The source set documents current methods and equipment but does not establish a historical origin or a particular traditional winnowing apparatus.

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Places

Unknown

Relationship not established · Place not established

Manufacturer product pages establish current offerings but not manufacturing origin or a place of use. Company contact addresses are not treated as factory locations.

Location source 1 → · Location source 2 →

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