For all you chocolate lovers out there, put a Chocoholic walking tour on your food bucket list.
As part of O’s birthday festivities last weekend we went on the Chocolate Indulgence Walk, one of the many chocolate adventures you can embark on with Chocoholic Tours Melbourne.
Our meeting point was outside New Zealand Natural at QV where our tour guide Jessica welcomed us and talked us through the entire process of how chocolate is made- from the growth of the cocoa beans on cacao trees right through to the fermentation, the roasting and what then happens once it is shipped to its various outlets.
Click here to read more on the making of chocolate
Our first tasting was New Zealand Natural’s Chocolate Ecstasy Ice cream. Jessica explains that this particular treat was chosen purely for its richness- a perfect way to kick off the tastebuds for this tour.
Next stop was one of my favourite patisserie’s, Cacao Fine Chocolates. We were advised not to shove the treats straight into our mouths (this was a struggle) but to instead smell the chocolate and focus on the taste to see what flavours and ingredients we could pick out.
When I took a sniff of this little delicacy I thought I could smell something fruity. Turns out I was a bit off, but hey at least I gave it a shot!
Speaking of shots… we were then set a challenge- to down Cacao’s dark liquid chocolate in one go. This, of course wasn’t a problem for me, it was so delicious I could have had another…and probably another after that.
We then ventured over to Royal Arcade to visit Koko Black for their Belgium Waffle Truffles pictured below. They reminded me of Ferrero Rochers, yummy.
Koko black was also kind enough to give us all complimentary hot chocolates for our next visit.
Score!
Our second last stop on the tour was Lindt in Collins street. I carelessly forgot to take a picture of the store but for those of you who haven’t visited this particular franchise, make sure you do- the ceiling and architecture of this building is pretty spectacular.
At this stage you could say the chocolate overload was kicking in but we had to soldier on, for we had one last stop at Ganache Chocolate in Collins street for afternoon tea.
It was a struggle getting through this piece but I managed to eat most of it. The bottom was my favourite, another Ferrero-like flavour and texture. The fudge was also delicious.
Before this tour I had never stopped to think about the time and effort that goes into the process of making chocolate, so if there is one thing that I have learnt from this experience it is to really appreciate everything you eat!
Chocoholic Tours
CBD, various locations
Phone: 9686 4655
Website: http://www.chocoholictours.com.au