ChocolateHQ

Worksheets for makers

Eight blank sheets for recording what you actually did: a roast, a batch, a temper, a fermentation, a day's production, a costing and a delivery of beans. Print this page, or take any sheet as a spreadsheet file.

8 sheetsPrint or CSVNothing is stored

How to use them

  • To print: use your browser’s print command. Each sheet starts on a new page, and the site’s navigation is left out.
  • To keep on a computer: each sheet has a CSV file with the same columns, which opens in any spreadsheet.
  • The sheets are blank on purpose. They hold no target temperatures, times or limits: those belong to your recipe and equipment, and the linked pages explain the columns.
  • A log is a record, not a safety system. If you sell food, your regulator’s requirements apply.

Roast log

One row per reading during a roast, so that a roast you liked can be repeated and one you did not can be explained.

Download the roast log as a CSV file

Date
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Bean lot and origin
To be filled in
Moisture if known
To be filled in
Charge weight (g)
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Roaster
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Roast log: a blank table with 14 rows to fill in
Time from start (min)Set temperatureBean or air temperatureSmell and soundAction taken
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  • Weigh the beans out as well as in, and work out the loss as a percentage.
  • Taste the result a day later and write the note on the same sheet.
  • A roast is also the step that makes raw beans safe. A log is not a validation of that.

What the columns mean: Roast profiling, Salmonella and chocolate.

Batch sheet

What went into one batch, in grams, and what came out.

Download the batch sheet as a CSV file

Date
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Batch number
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Product
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Made by
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Batch sheet: a blank table with 8 rows to fill in
IngredientSupplier and lotPlanned (g)Weighed (g)Share of batch (%)
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  • Record the lot of every ingredient. It is the only way to trace a problem back.
  • Note the weight of finished product and of anything remelted or discarded.

What the columns mean: Formulation calculator, Scaling calculator.

Formulation worksheet

A recipe worked out before it is made: each ingredient's share and what the recipe will declare.

Download the formulation worksheet as a CSV file

Recipe name
To be filled in
Version and date
To be filled in
Intended type (dark, milk, white)
To be filled in
Formulation worksheet: a blank table with 8 rows to fill in
IngredientGramsShare (%)Cocoa butter in it (%)Fat-free cocoa in it (%)Milk solids in it (%)
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  • The last three columns come from your suppliers' specification sheets, not from a table.
  • Total the cocoa columns for the declared cocoa percentage, and check it against the standard for the name you intend to use.

What the columns mean: Formulation calculator, What legally counts as chocolate.

Temper log

Each tempering attempt with the room it was done in, so that failures can be matched to conditions.

Download the temper log as a CSV file

Date
To be filled in
Chocolate and lot
To be filled in
Method (seed, table, machine)
To be filled in
Temper log: a blank table with 10 rows to fill in
Room temperatureRoom humidityMelted toCooled toWorked atTest resultDefects seen later
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  • Fill in the last column a day or two afterwards.
  • A run of failures on humid or warm days points at the room, not the method.

What the columns mean: Testing temper, Why tempering fails.

Fermentation and drying log

One row per day of a fermentation, then of drying.

Download the fermentation and drying log as a CSV file

Start date
To be filled in
Farm or lot
To be filled in
Method (heap, box, basket)
To be filled in
Mass of wet beans (kg)
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Hours between harvest and pod breaking
To be filled in
Fermentation and drying log: a blank table with 12 rows to fill in
DayTimeTemperature in the massTurned (yes or no)Smell and colour of pulpCut test: brown / purple / slatyWeather
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  • Take the temperature at the same depth each time.
  • During drying, record bean moisture if you can measure it, and whether the beans were covered at night.

What the columns mean: Cacao fermentation explained, Drying cacao.

Production log

A day's production in one place: what was made, from which batch, how much, and what was held back.

Download the production log as a CSV file

Date
To be filled in
People working
To be filled in
Room temperature and humidity at start
To be filled in
Production log: a blank table with 10 rows to fill in
ProductBatch numberUnits madeUnits rejectedReason for rejectionDate code applied
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  • Record every allergen handled that day at the top of the sheet.
  • Rejections are the most useful column. Do not leave it blank.

What the columns mean: Allergen labelling rules, Troubleshooter.

Cost sheet

What one batch cost, line by line, before any price is set.

Download the cost sheet as a CSV file

Product
To be filled in
Batch size (units)
To be filled in
Date
To be filled in
Cost sheet: a blank table with 12 rows to fill in
Cost lineQuantityUnit costLine costCost per unit
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  • Include packaging, labels, energy, your own time and the units you could not sell.
  • Margin is profit as a share of the selling price. Markup is profit as a share of the cost. They are not the same number.

What the columns mean: Batch cost calculator.

Incoming bean check

What a delivery of beans looked like on arrival.

Download the incoming bean check as a CSV file

Date received
To be filled in
Supplier
To be filled in
Origin and lot
To be filled in
Sacks and net weight
To be filled in
Smell on opening
To be filled in
Incoming bean check: a blank table with 6 rows to fill in
Sample numberBeans cutFully brownPart purpleSlatyMouldyInsect damagedFlat or germinated
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  • Cut the same number of beans in each sample so the counts can be compared.
  • Note any smoky, hammy or musty smell before anything else: it does not roast out.

What the columns mean: Bean quality assessment, How cocoa and chocolate are tested.

For tasting, the scorecard and the tasting flight produce their own sheets. See also the learning paths and all tools.