The day after we wore our
Trachten to dinner, we went on a tour of the
zotter chocolate factory in Riegersburg, Austria.
First up, my first ride on the Autobahn!
We merged onto the highway, and I noticed we were going a little fast. Hmm. Then, some cars flew past us, and it clicked!
The zotter Schokoladen Laden und Fabrik (Chocolate Store and Factory) was situated directly in the middle of nowhere. Kilometer after kilometer of fields, orchards, grapevines, then BAM. Color explosion.
From left to right: poster-sized chocolate labels in the lobby, a poster outside, and my ticket for the tour.
Sadly, Johannes and Leinie couldn't come on the tour, so it was the three of us.
First, we grabbed our ceramic tasting spoons and settled down to watch a movie about how zotter sources its chocolate. They
proudly label their products "bean-to-bar," signifying their involvement
in the growing of the raw ingredients and in the manufacturing of the
final products. Their chocolate products are Fair Trade and organic,
both of which are important to Austrians.
After the movie, we received portable audio devices in English and began touring the factory. First up: a room to taste raw beans from around the world. I wanted to taste the difference, but after one bean that left bean shards in my mouth, we moved on to the next room. We listened to our audio guide diligently, so we knew that the chocolate fountain in the right-hand picture was actually unrefined chocolate. Most people just went up to the fountain and filled their tasting spoons. It was sweet satisfaction to watch their expressions after they poured the stuff into their mouths. Some people tried to act like it wasn't so bad, but other people tried in vain to wipe their spoons clean.
After subjecting ourselves to a hallway with, I don't know, trays of 50 to 100% pure chocolate dust, we started to enjoy ourselves with chocolate fountains! Hooray!
Lisa, if there were ever a moment when I really wanted you here with me in Austria, it was then.
The tasting areas were situated around the perimeter of the factory, so we could look in and see all of the employee-loompas hard at work. It really
is magical how all of the chocolate gets made!
We progressed to my favorite part of the tour: the "Drinking" Chocolate room! We waited in line for the milk barista to dole out glasses of frothy milk, then we went to the bar and selected a flavor of chocolate from the zip-line.
By this point, we were in a chocolate-delirium. And in the video, you can see the delicious flavor, "Zimt Banane" or cinnamon banana. Yikes. I held strong with my Nuss-Nougat.
There was this room with all of these origami birds and these beans in the revolving, copper pots.
After a final room where chocolate was brought to us on a never-ending conveyor belt, we ended our chocolate day, but not after buying a few presents.
