WHERE: Taza Chocolate https://www.tazachocolate.com/pages/take-a-tour
WHAT: Savoring local chocolate
You don’t need a golden ticket for a factory tour of Taza Chocolate, and you won’t meet any Oompa-Loompas, but a visit to the community-focused, bean-to-bar chocolate business offers plenty of treats.
We went on a Saturday. Unfortunately, candy-making operations are dormant on weekends (weekday tours offer a better chance at seeing the process in action). We still had fun learning how Taza produces its organic, stone-ground chocolate.
To start things off, our guide, Cindy, offered us a taste of cinnamon chocolate. Young palates may be surprised at how different Taza’s artisanal confection is from a Hershey bar. Taza’s process imitates traditional Mexican chocolate-making. Everything, from roasting the cacao beans to packaging the final product, is done on site (hence the “bean-to-bar’’ designation). The results are a grainy texture and earthy, robust flavor quite unlike smooth, creamy milk chocolate.
As yummy treats were distributed, Cindy showed us photos of the Theobrama Cacao tree, passed around a dried pod, and displayed a picture of the fresh beans, which look nothing like chocolate as we know it (they’re white). After we put on hair nets, Cindy showed us the roaster, a big red metal contraption that looks like something out of an old sci-fi comic book. Ditto the winnower, another piece of vintage machinery which separates the bean, or nib, from the shell.
Speaking of nibs, we munched on the nutty, slightly bitter morsels while Cindy told us about the farmers that supply Taza with nearly 50 tons of cacao beans annually. After visiting the shipping and packing room, we checked out the hand-carved granite stones used to pulverize the nibs into chocolate liquor, and saw the maze of pipes and hoses the thick mixture travels through on its way to tempering, molding, drying, and hand packing. Then, Cindy invited us back to the store for - you guessed it - more samples.
Overall, the tour was a hit with the kids. Kay: “It’s so interesting to see what is behind these delicious things we eat.’’ Alas, there was some disappointment over the idle machinery. Abby: “I wanted to see a chocolate river.’’ We did see one on the video in the store. Who knows, if we go back on the right day, we just might see a real one. Taza Chocolate, 561 Windsor St., Somerville. Tours $5, see website for schedule. 617-284-2232, www.tazachocolate.com