Choc Heaven
The Chocolatarium offers lessons in history and cookery – as well as a chance for pure indulgence!
TO the ancient Aztecs it was the food of the gods. To modern-day chocoholics it’s the centrepiece of Easter and Christmas, devoured on birthdays, bad days and every day in between.
And to the team at The Chocolatarium, it’s the essential ingredient in one of Edinburgh’s tastiest days out. This popular attraction offers a range of tours, workshops and tastings celebrating everyone’s favourite sweet treat.
Visitors can learn all about the history and art of chocolate-making and even create their own chocolate bar to take home – or to gobble up on the return journey, if they really can’t wait.
It was voted the number one best food experience in the UK by reviewers on Tripadvisor in 2022. And if you’ve yet to taste haggis chocolate, or gin and tonic chocolate, well – there’s no better place to dive in.
The chocolate tour takes visitors from cacao tree to chocolate bar, covering 5000 years of delicious history in between. You’ll see how cocoa is grown and smell the chocolate being made, before being let loose in the kitchen to create your very own bar.
Unsurprisingly the tour also features a session in the tasting room, where visitors can sample a selection of more than 40 varieties from Scottish and international chocolate makers.
In addition to the daily tours, which are suitable for adults and children over the age of six, The Chocolatarium runs a series of more specialised sessions, including a truffle-making masterclass.
For over-18s, there are also chocolate and wine or chocolate and whisky experiences on offer, pairing carefully chosen old and new world wines – or malts – with artisan chocolates from small-scale craft makers.
And, because you can by definition never have too much chocolate, visitors also get to make their own chocolate bars or truffles to take away!