VISIT TO A CHOCOLATE FACTORY IN COORG!
With watching Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and fantasizing to the tunes of the Dairy Milk Silk song, all chocolate lovers like me, have grown up. This poor little chocolate-lover soul has only dreamt of a chocolate world and visiting Switzerland & Belgium just to taste chocolates. Oh how I wish I could live in a real time chocolate world!
So apparently, visiting this simple, not-so-famous chocolate factory of Coorg kind of made my dream come true! (partially).
Only when I was heading towards Mandalpatti from our stay did I notice a small white board which read out loud in brown “Chocolate Factory” with an arrow pointing at the East. I knew it at once that I had to pay a visit to this place.
This quaint little factory nestled amidst the green rolling hills specializes at making some really good tasting chocolates! Well not only chocolates but they also specialize in making local wine, coffee & honey.
As soon as I entered I was welcomed wholeheartedly by a group of ladies offering me back a winsome smile. More than me, they were overwhelmed to have a young visitor pay them a visit! I was literally on pins and needles to see the making of chocolates (finally!). On asking them, the answer they gave was completely unsatisfactory. Standing off from the main city this place often went through power cut and unfortunately today was one of those days, thus the chocolate making machines won’t work!
Had to console my heart and bring it down (which had already reached cloud 5 by now) where I had almost imagined myself making chocolates, while tasting them frequently, followed by big shares of giggles with cinematic music playing at the background! Phew!
PROCESS OF MAKING CHOCOLATES!
So what if I could not make chocolates at least I could witness the process they follow.
What they kept for visitors to see was the conching machine which kneads the chocolate into a fine paste. They already kept huge chocolate bars for conching and infused different flavors after the paste was done. Once the paste is made ready it is put into different molds. These molds are then cooled and delicately stored for them to become the most heavenly tasting chocolates ever! So Taddaaa! Chocolates of your choice is ready. Since there was no electricity so I couldn’t see the melting of the chocolate bars followed by molding and cooling.
Before I could decide on which flavored chocolates I could take back home I went through another zestful process of chocolate tasting! What a paradise for a chocolate lover like me. I could endlessly & endearingly keep on tasting all the chocolates they had till death do us apart. But I should behave like a civilized mannerly woman and stop the tasting (before it could go on for eternity) at once! This thought was reluctantly yet quickly put to “Rest-In-peace” mode followed by a remark made by me which made all the ladies break out into a roaring laughter. “Can I take back all the chocolates you have home? Hahaaa just kidding!” only I knew I was not! Without any delay I bought some coffee, milk & almond flavored chocolates. There are other flavors available too like cashew, hazelnut, dark chocolates, etc. You can choose according to your wish. All of them taste just amazing!
Next to the chocolate tasting I also indulged myself into some local wine tasting and trust me on that my taste buds were introduced to different taste palates. From sweet to spicy to tangy and oak-y they had it all! I bagged home some passion fruit wine although the chilly flavored wine was one of a kind!
One of the highlights of my Coorg trip was visiting this chocolate factory! For die heart chocolate lovers like me it has always been a dreamy place. The kid inside me cherished tasting different chocolates and enjoyed the process behind the making of chocolates.
Besides, the woman inside me loved the fact that this place was entirely run by local women who earned a living by making local products. I was impressed by the fact that they were well educated about what they made and what all they were selling. I am bloated with honor that Indian women instead of churning milk at home are tasting freedom by making others taste their local items. Kudos to women empowerment. More than chocolates & wine what I took back was that I could draw inspiration from them and of course could make them smile for at least a moment. They stole my heart.
So here I am having lived the dream of my life although in peanuts, yet having got to visit a chocolate factory! So my dear readers the next time you plan to visit Coorg do visit this place to know about the local products and also do support these dedicated women.
I am glad that i could share my experience at this chocolate factory with you all.
Thanks for reading.
See you at my next post!
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