Can a Champion juicer make chocolate?

The Champion juicer does not make finished chocolate, but it performs two essential steps: cracking roasted beans and pre-refining winnowed nibs into cocoa paste. Used with the blank screen (not the juice screen), it processes approximately 1 lb per minute and produces paste that goes into a melanger for final refining and conching.

What screen do I need for the Champion juicer for chocolate?

You need the blank screen (also called the homogenizer blank or non-juicing screen). With the juice screen, the Champion separates liquid from solids. With the blank screen in place, all the material stays together and exits as a thick paste, which is what you want for cocoa pre-refining.

Does pre-refining with the Champion actually save time?

Yes. By breaking nibs down from coarse pieces into a rough paste before loading the melanger, pre-refining reduces the initial breakdown work the melanger has to do. This can reduce total melanger time by several hours for a batch that would otherwise require 24 hours, while producing equivalent or better particle size distribution.

How do I clean the Champion after processing chocolate?

Clean immediately after use while the machine is still warm and the cocoa butter has not set. Disassemble completely — remove the auger, screen, and housing — and wipe each surface while the paste is still fluid. Use warm water and mild dish soap, and ensure complete drying before the next use. Leaving any moisture in the machine before the next cacao run can cause problems.

How does the Champion compare to the Crankandstein for cracking?

The Champion handles approximately 1 lb per minute versus the Crankandstein's approximately 0.5 lb per minute. More importantly, the Champion also pre-refines, reducing melanger load. The Crankandstein only cracks. The Crankandstein's plastic gears are noted as a weakness for heavy use. For most makers, the Champion's combined cracking and pre-refining functions make it the better investment at approximately $300.

Champion Juicer for Chocolate Making: Cracking and Pre-Refining

The Champion juicer is the best available tool for combined cracking and pre-refining in home chocolate making. It handles approximately 1 lb per minute and produces a chunky cocoa paste that goes into the melanger already partially broken down. Both Dandelion Chocolate and Chocolate Alchemy cite it as the primary recommendation for this stage. The key reason to use it: pre-refining reduces the load on your melanger’s granite rollers and can significantly shorten total refining time.

Two Jobs in One Machine

The Champion juicer was designed for juice extraction from fruits and vegetables. For chocolate making, it is used with the blank screen inserted rather than the juice screen. This modification transforms it into a masticating pre-refiner — the auger shreds and presses the beans, and without the juice screen, the output comes out as a thick paste rather than separated juice and pulp.

Job 1 is cracking. Running whole roasted beans through the Champion with the blank screen breaks them into rough pieces. At approximately 1 lb per minute, this is faster than hand cracking and produces more consistent results than hammering.

Job 2 is pre-refining. A second pass through the Champion with cracked, winnowed nibs produces a rough cocoa paste. This paste goes directly into the melanger. Because the Champion has already broken down the nib structure significantly, the melanger starts working with much smaller particle fragments than if it received whole or coarsely cracked nibs.

Why Pre-Refining Matters

The melanger’s granite rollers reduce particles through compression and shear. The harder the starting material and the larger the starting particle size, the more work the rollers have to do and the longer the refining takes.

Whole nibs entering a melanger spend the first several hours just being broken down into a workable mass. Pre-refined paste entering a melanger starts much closer to the target particle size, allowing the rollers to focus on fine refining rather than initial breakdown.

In practical terms, pre-refining with the Champion can reduce total melanger time by several hours. For a batch that would otherwise require 24 hours of melanger time, pre-refining may bring that down to 18 hours with equivalent or better particle size distribution.

The particle size coming out of the Champion is still far above the 10 to 20 micron target — the Champion cannot approach that range. Its job is to get particles down to the few-hundred-micron range, at which point the melanger can take over efficiently.

Champion Juicer G5-PG710

The Blank Screen

The blank screen (also called the homogenizer blank or non-juicing screen) is the key accessory. Without it, the Champion extracts juice and leaves pulp — not what you want. With the blank screen in place, everything that enters exits as a pressed paste.

Ensure you have the correct blank screen for your Champion model. The G5 and Classic models use different accessory specifications. If you bought the Champion for juicing and are adding it to a chocolate workflow, you may need to order the blank screen separately.

Setup and Operation

Before running cacao, ensure the Champion is completely dry. Moisture is the enemy of chocolate making — even trace water causes viscosity spikes and can destroy a batch. Run a paper towel through the machine to dry any residual moisture from cleaning before first use.

Load beans into the hopper at a pace the machine can handle without jamming. The Champion can choke on large, irregular pieces — pre-sort your roasted beans and break up any that are unusually large before feeding. When the flow slows, ease the pressure on the hopper plunger and allow the machine to clear before continuing.

The output will be warm from friction. This is normal and beneficial — warm paste flows better into the melanger and helps the initial melanger loading.

Order of Operations: Crack, Winnow, Then Champion

This sequence is critical: you must winnow before pre-refining. If you run un-winnowed cracked beans through the Champion, you incorporate husk into the paste. Husk in the paste then goes into the melanger and into your finished chocolate. This is exactly the opposite of what you want.

The correct order is:

Roast
Rest (6 hours minimum)
Crack (Champion pass with blank screen, or other cracking method)
Winnow (remove husk)
Pre-refine (second Champion pass with clean nibs)
Load melanger

Some makers use the Champion for cracking only and skip the pre-refining pass, going directly from winnowed nibs to the melanger. This works but forgoes the efficiency advantage of pre-refining.

Cleaning the Champion

The Champion is one of the harder pieces of chocolate equipment to clean because cocoa butter sets hard at room temperature. Clean immediately after use while the machine is still warm. Disassemble completely — remove the auger, screen, and housing — and wipe each surface while the chocolate paste is still fluid.

For full cleaning, warm water and mild dish soap works. Ensure every surface is completely dry before the next use. Leaving moisture in the machine and then running cacao through it is the fastest way to cause problems.

Comparison to Other Cracking Options

The Crankandstein cocoa mill at around $200 cracks beans at approximately 0.5 lb per minute. Its plastic gears are a noted weakness for heavy use. It does not pre-refine. The Champion at approximately $300 runs twice as fast as the Crankandstein and adds the pre-refining function.

Manual cracking methods — zip-lock bag and rolling pin, stone mortar, etc. — are viable for very small batches (under half a pound) and for understanding what cracking does, but are impractical for any regular production.

For the widest context on cracking and winnowing equipment options, see our best winnower guide and our how to crack and winnow cacao guide.

Where the Champion Fits in a Full Home Setup

A practical home chocolate making equipment list puts the Champion between the roaster and the melanger:

Behmor 2000AB (roasting) → 6-hour rest → Champion with blank screen (cracking) → fan or PVC winnower (husk removal) → Champion with blank screen (pre-refining) → Spectra 11 or Premier (refining and conching) → tempering table and thermometer → polycarbonate molds.

The Champion adds one step to this process but potentially removes several hours from the melanger step. For makers who want to maximize the efficiency of their melanger runs, pre-refining is worth the additional cleanup time.

For the complete equipment picture, see our bean-to-bar equipment guide for beginners.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Champion juicer make chocolate?: The Champion juicer does not make finished chocolate, but it performs two essential steps: cracking roasted beans and pre-refining winnowed nibs into cocoa paste. Used with the blank screen (not the juice screen), it processes approximately 1 lb per minute and produces paste that goes into a melanger for final refining and conching.
What screen do I need for the Champion juicer for chocolate?: You need the blank screen (also called the homogenizer blank or non-juicing screen). With the juice screen, the Champion separates liquid from solids. With the blank screen in place, all the material stays together and exits as a thick paste, which is what you want for cocoa pre-refining.
Does pre-refining with the Champion actually save time?: Yes. By breaking nibs down from coarse pieces into a rough paste before loading the melanger, pre-refining reduces the initial breakdown work the melanger has to do. This can reduce total melanger time by several hours for a batch that would otherwise require 24 hours, while producing equivalent or better particle size distribution.
Why do I need to winnow before using the Champion for pre-refining?: If you run un-winnowed cracked beans through the Champion, husk gets incorporated into the cocoa paste. That husk then goes into the melanger and into your finished chocolate, raising the husk percentage above acceptable levels. Always winnow to clean nibs before the pre-refining pass.
How do I clean the Champion after processing chocolate?: Clean immediately after use while the machine is still warm and the cocoa butter has not set. Disassemble completely — remove the auger, screen, and housing — and wipe each surface while the paste is still fluid. Use warm water and mild dish soap, and ensure complete drying before the next use. Leaving any moisture in the machine before the next cacao run can cause problems.
How does the Champion compare to the Crankandstein for cracking?: The Champion handles approximately 1 lb per minute versus the Crankandstein's approximately 0.5 lb per minute. More importantly, the Champion also pre-refines, reducing melanger load. The Crankandstein only cracks. The Crankandstein's plastic gears are noted as a weakness for heavy use. For most makers, the Champion's combined cracking and pre-refining functions make it the better investment at approximately $300.