This is a little place tucked slightly away from the main square in Barranco, Lima that I definitely think deserves a mention. I have to admit it was slightly different from what I had envisaged, mostly due to the size. However, it is a lovely place to go if (a) you like chocolate and (b) you have a spare 15 minutes.
It's a small establishment, consisting of a cafe selling a range of edible chocolate goodies (of course), a shop set up in the corner selling unusual items such as cocoa face cream and cocoa candles, and two rooms off to the side where they manufacture the sweet brown miracle.
Upon entering, our noses were greeted with a strong, but not altogether unpleasant, aroma of a chocolate-scented incense stick. Unusual but effective. We were then greeted by a friendly chocolatier, who offered to give us a free tour of the chocolate-making process. We readily agreed and were shown the process from the bean to the river of melted loveliness (which we were allowed to taste - much to our delight). It was interesting, although rather short (as I said, there are but two rooms that house the machines, and they aren't big).
A selection of chocolate jams
After the tour we were offered a samples of alcohol made from the cocoa bean and also a taste of one of the many 'chocolate jams' available, which were essentially chocolate spread and fruit. The alcohol was incredibly strong but tasted good, probably owing to the orange-flavouring, but I was disappointed with my choice of spread, which just tasted like strawberry jam. However, my friend was very pleased with her orange and chocolate mix.
Apparently there is another one of these closer to home in Miraflores, which I will hopefully manage to visit at some point. I definitely intend to go to one of them and this time have a hot chocolate in the cafe, and maybe try out one of their chocolate-making workshops.
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