Chocolate Museum in Colmar - Choco story

But who is Quetzalcoatl? To meet the feathered serpent god revered by the Aztecs, head to the Choco-Story chocolate museum in Colmar. Installed in the historic heart of the city, you will leave Alsace for an immersive journey into the world of chocolate, from the plantation of cocoa trees to the court of the king, passing by the incredible cabaret.

The route through the 18 rooms also conceals some jewels: more than 500 collector's items representing the great eras of chocolate for... 5,000 years! Decorated jicaras, sugar hammers, Mayan pots in the shape of animal heads, metates used to grind beans, chocolate pots (including a left-handed model). Take a good look at the delicate porcelain chocolate cups to discover the mustache cups!

But let's not skip the steps! Equipped with an audio guide, young and old explorers first discover the cocoa tree and its culture before entering an Aztec temple. There, on a chocomur, looms the famous Quetzalcoatl.

It is the feathered serpent god venerated by the Aztecs who would have offered cocoa, food of the gods, to man. Decorations, atmosphere, discreet sound effects, everything is done for a perfect immersion. For a little, we would get seasick on the caravel of Cortès which made chocolate famous in Europe!

The comments are short and easy to access and interactive terminals invite you to test your knowledge, to distinguish scents, to play games, or even take up challenges to make the most foam, for example, with a Molinillo, a wooden foamer. .

In a laboratory, a “choco-scanner” shows the beneficial effects of chocolate.

A pleasant excuse to taste the chocolate palets at the vending machines! At the cabaret, chocolate dresses and hats put on a show around a Statue of Liberty sculpted from 250 kg of chocolate! The last stage is dedicated to chocolate makers from Alsace with their specialties and know-how.

After 1h30 of journey through the world of chocolate, you are unbeatable on all the stages of production, from the cocoa bean to the tablet, including the shelling, the fermentation of the beans, the drying, the roasting, stirring, mixing...

For the final stages, tempering and molding, head to the workshop (on reservation). In Nitish Boodhooa's workshop, the air smells of chocolate.
On the work tables, everything is ready for the chocolate makers for a day: a fondue pot, plastic molds to make chocolate bars, different ingredients so that everyone can make their own creations: small colored candies, dried fruits, almonds shredded, grated coconut..

“For the chocolate to be shiny and melt-in-the-mouth, it has to be brought to the right temperature,” explains the pastry chef-chocolatier from Mauritius while white, dark and milk chocolate turns in the vats.

Once this beautiful mass has been transferred to the caquelons, the apprentice chocolatier dips a cube of marshmallow to cover it with chocolate before decorating it. Using a pocket, everyone fills the molds to make small tablets , decorating them as they wish.

All that remains is the packaging to take away his creations! As Easter approaches, Nitish Boodhooa offers to make filled chocolate eggs. What pride to offer it saying, I made it.

INFO

VISIT The Chocolate Museum - Choco-Story, 12 place de la Cathédrale, Colmar
Tel. 09 88 99 44 30
Open Wednesday to Sunday + during school holidays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Prices: €10/€7 (6-11 years old). 35 € with the workshop to book on:
www.choco-storycolmar.fr