All Types of Chocolate Tempering Machines and How They Work

Short answer: there are three types of chocolate tempering machine. A melter melts and holds chocolate at working temperature while you do the seeding. A batch (bowl) tempering machine melts, crystallises and holds one bowl of chocolate at a time, typically 3 kg. A continuous tempering machine uses an auger (Archimedes screw) to keep tempered chocolate flowing all day, from 5 kg tabletop models to 80 kg tanks. Choose by how much chocolate you work per day, how often you change chocolate, and the power supply you have.

Quick answer: which type of tempering machine for which production

Your production	Type	Example	Price
Small batches, you seed by hand, 110 V	Melter	Martellato Digital Meltinchoc 3.6 L	$1,150.00 CAD
Automatic tempering, frequent chocolate changes, 110 V	Batch (bowl)	Pavoni MiniTemper 110V	$3,350.00 CAD
Daily bonbons and bars in a small lab	Compact continuous, 4–6 kg	Bilait Adam K6, Pomati T5, FBM Aura (tabletop machines)	from $10,990.00 CAD
Artisan production with dosing and enrobing	Continuous, 9–16 kg	Chocolate World CW12, Pomati T8, Pomati SL16 (all tempering machines)	from $19,890.00 CAD
Semi-industrial and industrial production	Continuous, 24–80 kg	Chocolate World CW24 to CW80, Pomati SL30 and SL50 (20–35 kg, 50–80 kg)	from $23,099.00

How does a chocolate tempering machine work?

A tempering machine controls temperature and movement so that the cocoa butter sets in its one stable crystal form, then keeps the chocolate in that state while you work.

Cocoa butter can crystallise in six forms (Barišić and colleagues, Molecules, 2019). Only one, form V (β(V)), gives the snap, gloss and mould release a professional wants:

Crystal form	Melting point
γ	17.3°C (63°F)
α	23.3°C (74°F)
β′ (III)	25.5°C (78°F)
β′ (IV)	27.5°C (82°F)
β (V), the target	33.8°C (93°F)
β (VI)	36.3°C (97°F)

In chocolate, the same review gives 29–31.5°C (84–89°F) for the β(V) form, which is obtained by a properly conducted tempering process.

Good tempering, in the definition food scientists use, means "the largest number of the smallest possible crystals" in form V. Chocolate tempered that way crystallises quickly, contracts as it sets (so it releases from the mould), has a high gloss and resists fat bloom. Melters and tempering machines all work through the same three stages:

1. Melt completely. All crystals are erased. The Martellato Digital Meltinchoc, for example, melts to 45°C (113°F).
2. Create form V crystals. Either by a temperature cycle that forms form V nuclei and melts the unstable forms, or by adding seed chocolate. Seed crystals let the surrounding liquid fat crystallise quickly in the right form.
3. Hold at working temperature. The Meltinchoc holds 31°C (88°F) for dark, 29°C (84°F) for milk and 28°C (82°F) for white chocolate.

The exact temperatures depend on the chocolate's recipe, so follow your chocolate maker's figures. And watch the heat: above about 34°C (93°F) the form V crystals are destroyed, which gives an incomplete temper and a higher risk of bloom. Read more in our guide to chocolate crystallization.

The parts that do this work: a tank or bowl with heating, a cooling system (air-cooled on the Easy Temp and MiniTemper, a refrigerating unit with forced-air cooling on the Pomati T5, a gas-cooled pipe on the FBM Aura), temperature controls with stored programs and, on continuous machines, an auger that circulates and dispenses the chocolate.

Type 1: Chocolate melters (you temper, the machine holds)

A melter melts and holds chocolate at a set temperature; the seeding is your job. It is the lowest-cost way to work tempered chocolate if you already know how to temper.

Martellato's Digital Meltinchoc has three preset programs for dark, milk and white chocolate. It melts to 45°C (113°F), shows a symbol when it is time to seed, and after seeding lowers and holds the chocolate at 31, 29 or 28°C. Our units run on 110 V, in 3.6 L to 13.7 L sizes.

• View the Digital Meltinchoc 3.6 L → $1,150.00 CAD
• View the Digital Meltinchoc 6 L → $1,259.99 CAD

Martellato table-top melters come with a free spatula. View countertop chocolate melters → Not sure which you need? Read chocolate melter vs chocolate temperer.

Type 2: Batch (bowl) tempering machines

A batch machine runs the whole cycle on one bowl of chocolate, then holds it in temper; when the bowl is used, you start a new one. It suits small productions that change chocolate often.

• Pavoni MiniTemper. Pavoni's catalogue lists a 5 L / 3 kg bowl, 300 W and 16 kg, and says it keeps chocolate tempered for hours with customisable programs. Our 110 V / 60 Hz version has five programmable presets, each with three stages (melt, crystallise, harden), set between 20°C and 60°C (68–140°F) in 0.5°C steps. With an extra bowl you can switch from dark to white without stopping to clean.
• Chocolate World Easy Temp. Chocolate World lists a 3 kg tank, air cooling, 230 V single-phase, 51 × 51 × 26 cm and 18 kg. You load callets, the machine melts them, you add the seed callets and it cools the chocolate to tempering temperature.

• View the Pavoni MiniTemper 110V → $3,350.00 CAD
• View the extra MiniTemper bowl → $299.00 CAD
• View the Chocolate World Easy Temp 3 kg → $6,775.00 CAD

Type 3: Continuous tempering machines

A continuous machine keeps a tank of chocolate in temper and lifts it with an auger (an Archimedes screw) to a spout, so you can dose, mould and enrobe without stopping. This is the type for daily production.

Compact continuous machines (4–6 kg)

• Bilait Adam K6 — Bilait's most compact machine, for small workshops, pastry shops and restaurants starting with chocolate or adding capacity. Bilait's 2026 catalogue: 6 kg capacity, tempers 20 kg of chocolate in 4.5 hours and up to 45 kg a day, manages any type of chocolate automatically, night cycle to save energy, heated vibrating table, stainless-steel auger, stop & go pedal for dosing, and a reversible pump for a complete cleaning in 10 minutes. 230 V, 50/60 Hz, 1.5 kW at full capacity, 67 kg.
• Pomati T5 — direct auger tempering for pastry shops, ice cream parlours and food service. Pomati's datasheet: 5 kg tank, double heating circuit for tank and auger, removable auger for cleaning and changing chocolate that reverses to unload, 240 V single-phase. A T5 vibrating table is sold separately.
• FBM Aura — continuous tempering with a working bowl. Our product data: 4 kg bowl, about 10 kg/h of tempered chocolate, CPU control, induction heating and gas-cooled pipe, screw pump with automatic reversal for chocolate changes, electronic dosing, vibrating table and night cycle; 220 V, 60 Hz, 0.75 kW, 70 kg.

Machine	Price
Bilait Adam K6 (Bilait)	$10,990.00 CAD
Pomati T5 (Pomati)	$11,650.00 CAD
Pomati T5 vibrating table	$1,650.00 CAD
FBM Aura (FBM Boscolo)	$11,999.00 CAD

Artisan to industrial continuous machines (9–80 kg)

Above 6 kg, the tank size sets how much chocolate you can dispense per hour. Figures below are from the manufacturers' data on our product pages.

Machine	Tank	Output	Included / notes	Price
Pomati T8	9 kg	—	Removable auger, heated vibrating table, air-cooled; 220 V / 60 Hz single-phase	$19,890.00 CAD
Chocolate World CW12	12 kg	up to 45 kg/h	Heated vibrating table and dosing pedal included	$20,299.00 CAD
Pomati SL16	16 kg	—	Touch screen, three-zone tempering, removable auger, night mode; 1 kW	$22,899.00 CAD
Chocolate World CW24 Delight	24 kg	up to 90 kg/h	Single-phase or three-phase; heated vibrating table	$23,099.00
Pomati SL30	30 kg	—	Separate zone heating, programmable pedal; 1.6 kW	$31,550.00 CAD
Chocolate World CW40	40 kg	up to 150 kg/h	Three-phase, or single-phase conversion; heated vibrating table	$33,660.00
Pomati SL50	50 kg	—	Multi-zone heated tank; 2 kW	$39,999.00 CAD
Chocolate World CW80	80 kg	up to 200 kg/h	Three-phase; heated vibrating table	$43,550.00 CAD

How the two ranges split the work: the Chocolate World CW line publishes its hourly output and builds in the vibrating table, the right fit when you plan around kilograms per hour; the Pomati SL line is built around touch-screen, multi-zone tank heating and connects directly to Pomati enrobing belts and dosing plates, the right fit when you are building a Pomati line. CW24 and CW40 prices shown are for the three-phase version.

View all chocolate tempering machines →

Beyond tempering: vibrating tables, dosing, enrobing and cooling

A continuous machine is the heart of a chocolate line; the modules around it decide what it can produce.

• Vibrating table: removes air bubbles from filled moulds. Included and heated on the CW12, CW24, CW40, CW80, Pomati T8 and Bilait Adam K6.
• Dosing: a pedal (CW12, Adam K6, SL30) or an electronic dosing device (FBM Aura) portions chocolate into moulds.
• Enrobing: the Chocolate World M1200A 180 mm enrobing line fits the CW12, with a double chocolate curtain, adjustable vibration and a blower to control coating thickness; the Pomati tilting enrobing belt (180 mm) folds onto the T8, T20 and T35.
• Moulding and cooling: the Chocolate World Wheelie is a 14 kg wheel moulding unit for shells, and the M1850 enrobing units work with Chocolate World's 300 mm cooling tunnels.

• Chocolate World M1200A enrobing line, 180 mm: $13,999.00 CAD
• Pomati tilting enrobing belt, 180 mm: $15,500.00 CAD

View chocolate enrobing machines → For the full method, read the complete chocolate enrobing guide.

How to choose the right chocolate tempering machine

Five questions decide the type and the size.

• How much chocolate per day? A 3 kg bowl covers small batches. Bilait states the 6 kg Adam K6 tempers up to 45 kg a day; above that, compare the hourly outputs in the table above.
• Which power supply? Our MiniTemper and Meltinchoc units run on 110 V. The Easy Temp and Adam K6 are listed at 230 V and the Pomati T5 at 240 V single-phase; the CW24 and CW40 come in single-phase 220 V or three-phase versions, and the CW80 is three-phase. Have an electrician check your supply before you order.
• How often do you change chocolate? Look at how the machine empties: an extra bowl on the MiniTemper, a removable and reversible auger on the Pomati T5, automatic auger reversal on the FBM Aura, a reversible pump on the Adam K6.
• What will you make? Moulded bonbons need a vibrating table and dosing; enrobed bars and pralines need an enrober the machine can feed.
• Where are you going? If you plan to add enrobing or moulding later, choose a machine that already accepts those modules.

Cleaning and maintenance

Most of the daily work is emptying and cleaning, so the design matters. The Pomati T5, T8 and SL16 have removable augers; Bilait says the Adam K6's reversible pump allows a complete cleaning in 10 minutes; the MiniTemper's bowl is interchangeable and removable. Follow the cleaning and servicing schedule in your machine's manual. Customers who bought their machine from Zucchero get 15% off genuine spare parts with code PARTS15. For a step-by-step routine, read maintaining and cleaning chocolate equipment.

How AI can help your production

Give an AI assistant your weekly volume in kilograms of chocolate, the products you make and the hours your team spends tempering by hand today. Ask it to compare the machines above on tank size and on the manufacturers' published outputs, and to estimate the hours a machine could free each week at your own labour cost. Once the machine is in, ask it to turn the manual into a one-page start-up, chocolate-change and cleaning checklist, and to keep a log of tempering temperatures for each chocolate you use.

AI organises the information; tasting and the final decision stay with your chef.

Chocolate tempering machines at Zucchero Canada

Zucchero Canada is based in Calgary. We are the exclusive distributor of Bilait in Canada, and an authorized distributor of Pavoni Italia, Pomati, Chocolate World, FBM Boscolo and Martellato. Each type has its job:

• Learning and small batches, 110 V: Martellato Digital Meltinchoc.
• Automatic batches with frequent chocolate changes, 110 V: Pavoni MiniTemper.
• Small batches on 230 V with seed callets: Chocolate World Easy Temp.
• Daily production in a small lab: Bilait Adam K6, Pomati T5 or FBM Aura.
• Artisan to industrial lines: Chocolate World CW12–CW80 or Pomati T8 and SL16–SL50.

Ask us about availability before you order. Machines are excluded from free shipping; orders over CAD 500 get 5% off automatically at checkout. Not sure which machine fits your volume and your power supply? Write to sales@zuccherocanada.ca or call 587-774-8873 (toll free 877-741-8251).

Tempering machines | Countertop melters | Enrobing machines | Best tempering machines for home use | Why you need a tempering machine | How to temper chocolate

This article is for information only. Every business is different: draw your own conclusions based on your own expectations, budget and goals, and talk to qualified experts before you decide or invest.

Sources: Barišić V. et al., "The Chemistry behind Chocolate Production", Molecules 24 (2019) 3163; Lonchampt P., Hartel R.W., "Fat bloom in chocolate and compound coatings", European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology 106 (2004) 241–274; KREA Swiss Knowledge, "Tempering, what it really is and where it goes wrong"; Chocolate World, M1705 Easy Temp page and flyer; Martellato, Digital Meltinchoc use and maintenance handbook; Pavoni Italia, Machines catalogue 2022 and Minitemper page; Pomati, T5 tempering machine page; Bilait, Catalogue 2026 (Adam K6); Zucchero Canada product data for the Easy Temp, MiniTemper 110V, FBM Aura, Pomati T8, SL16, SL30, SL50, Chocolate World CW12, CW24, CW40, CW80, M1200A, Wheelie and M1850, and Pomati tilting enrobing belt.