Venezuelan chocolate

For dark chocolate, in a double boiler bring the chocolate to between 122°F and 130°F, then transfer the bowl to a cold bath being careful not to allow water into the molten chocolate while stirring, cool the mixture to 83°F, return to the double boiler and bring it back up to 89°F. Add a piece of hard chocolate to the molten mass to seed the crystalline structure. This suggests the formation of the molecular arrangement otherwise the mass languishes and takes much longer to harden and risks misaligning allowing the cocoa butter to bloom, that is to transpire to the surface and settle in patches. Tempering gives chocolate an attractive gloss when molded and a distinctive snap when broken. Tempered chocolate is more stable than merely melted and hardened chocolate and tends to hold its shape better through severe temperature changes. You might notice these temperatures are just above and below body temperature. Because chocolate is a complex amalgamation of many molecules its melting point is actually a melting range. This dark chocolate melts between 83°F and 93°F, its working range is 88°F and 90°F. Best to have a reliable thermometer.