Entering the building for the Scharffen Berger factory tour, I’m engulfed by the aroma of chocolate. Not a sticky, sweet smell, as you might imagine, but rather a heady yet earthy aroma that brings a mental picture of a dark and rich place. Very similar to the experience of walking into a winery cellar where the oak kegs are stored. This is not a child’s version of a chocolate factory, there are no oompa-loompas here. This is an adult’s chocolate factory, where the darker the chocolate bar is, the better.
Most of the tour is actually a lecture, one where we learn about the cacao farming process, the harvesting of the fruit by hand with a machete, how the raw beans are prepared and shipped to the factory, and all about the roasting and manufacturing process. We learn that the entire process of making artisan chocolate is a precise and magical task.
Scharffen Berger Chocolate was founded by Robert Steinberg and John Scharffenberger and actually started in Robert’s home kitchen in 1996. Using a coffee grinder, mortar and pestle, an electric mixer, and a hair dryer to produce their first chocolate, the two tested nearly thirty varieties of cacao beans for flavor.
The first official batch of Scharffen Berger chocolate was made in their first factory in South San Francisco, using vintage European chocolate making equipment. But it took a series of experiments before they could consistently make wonderful chocolate. In 2001 the small company moved to West Berkeley, into a 1906 brick and mortar warehouse where it is today.
During the lecture plates of chocolate were passed around the room for tasting. Once we put on our hairnets, the following tour of the processing area was short, as all of the machines had their purposes explained to us in the other room.
Oh, and the factory is dairy and nut free.
You can sign up for a tour of the factory on the Scharffen Berger web site.
After the tour, consider stopping in to Cafe Cacao for a bite to eat!
Scharffen Berger Chocolate
914 Heinz Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94710
Monday – Saturday: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sunday: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
T: 510.981.4066
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Tags: berkeley, chocolate, east, fun factory tour, scharffen berger
2 Comments
This is one of my favorites. I was really bummed to find out there are no factory seconds as they just remelt the chocolate.
Unfortunately word came out today that the Berkeley Scharffen Berger location will be closing. No date was given for the closure but it’s said to be happening sometime this year.
It hit the news today: http://tinyurl.com/agnk6p