The Chocolatarium is Edinburgh’s must-visit attraction for all chocolate lovers. Nestled next to the Royal Mile, this chocolate experience and shop has so much to offer. Whether you’re looking to expand your chocolate horizons, try a bunch of chocolates from all over the world, pick up more knowledge on how chocolate grows and how we actually make it, or just looking for a bit of fun creating your very own chocolate bar, The Chocolatarium has it all.
And being a must-visit for anybody’s Edinburgh bucket list, we’ve got at least 5 reasons you should add it to yours.
5. You get to eat so much chocolate!
Let’s start with maybe the best reason of all — you get to eat boatloads of chocolate. From the get-go, on any of the chocolate experience tours, you’ll kick it off with a decadent hot chocolate. Following this, you get to try 100% raw chocolate, alongside 100% cocoa butter, eat chocolate straight from a piping bag and try a bunch of delicious single-origin chocolates from all over the world.
Plus, if that’s not enough for you, in their tasting room you can try 50+ chocolates from their chocolate wall of fame. Featuring hand-picked and taste-tested chocolates, these are the best-of-the-best and feature some of the most unique chocolate flavours you can think of, including carrot cake, lemon meringue, gin and tonic, wild gorse, haggis spice, banoffee pie…the list goes on!
4. Make your very own chocolate goodies
Taking part in any of the tour experiences bags you the chance to create your own custom chocolate treats. Grab your chef’s hat, you’re head chocolatier for the day. Whether it be indulgent hard shell truffles, made from scratch using moulds, scrapers and fillings, to your own moulded chocolate bars featuring your favourite toppings — salt, marshmallows, mint and many more.
While messy work, you get to bring your chocolate creation home after the tour, though we highly doubt it’ll get too far from the door before disappearing into your belly.
3. Learn all about chocolate and its origins
Not just a delicious, fun experience, The Chocolatarium is a hub of choco-knowledge. You’ll leave a mastermind in all things chocolate after being guided through their chocolate tours. You’ll get to see and touch a real cacao pod and will explore the bean-to-bar process of making chocolate from roasting, to cracking, to winnowing, to grinding. You’ll learn how chocolatemakers source chocolate and the economics of doing so.
Plus, every tour is guided by a chocolate expert who will answer your burning questions about all things chocolate…including the controversial ones. Should chocolate be kept in the fridge? Is white chocolate truly chocolate? Is chocolate really healthy and actually good for us? You’ll have to take part to find out!
2. Learn a new skill, like truffle-making
While not eating or learning about chocolate, you can learn a new skill at The Chocolatarium. You’ll be able to wow your friends and family with the likes of hand-tempering your own chocolate at home for your at-home chocolate craft projects, or learning how to make chocolate truffles so professionally that you could sell them (if you don’t eat them first). Learn how to pair chocolate with wine and whisky and to pick out the flavour notes and profiles in any piece of chocolate.
1. Explore unique chocolate offerings and gifts
As with many experiences, exiting through the gift shop is the perfect ending. What’s more, The Chocolatarium’s chocolate shop is a cornucopia of chocolate wonder. Featuring many of the chocolates from their wall of fame for you to buy, they’ve got a huge range of unique flavours and independent chocolate makers.
Looking for chocolate grown only in volcanic soil? They’ve got that. Maybe you’re hankering for some Guinness-infused chocolate, they’ve also got that. Ghost pepper white chocolate? Maple-bacon-pancake-flavoured bars? Lemon and olive oil white chocolate? New York cheesecake chocolate? Check. They’ve got those too, and plenty more.
Not feeling like eating more chocolate (we don’t blame you)? They’ve got cocoa butter cosmetic products, chocolate scented candles, chocolate cocoa husk tea, and chocolate pasta for the more daring foodie. You won’t be disappointed by their offerings. In fact, you’ll be stuck deciding which you’re going to take home with you.
Those are our top five reasons The Chocolatarium should be on your Edinburgh bucket list, but we’ve only scratched the surface of everything they offer. You’ll have to come by yourself and see what else is waiting for you to discover.
