SSC Molly and some ELC students got to visit a lesser known Boston landmark, the Taza Chocolate Factory. While it may not be as well known as some of the other more popular Boston hot spots, the chocolate factory is unique to the area and a definite must see.
The factory was founded in Sommerville, Massachusetts (a part of Boston’s neighbor, Cambridge) in 2006. Although the factory has grown quite quickly, the chocolate makers still use the original machines they did when they began, all of which came from chocolate factories that once existed elsewhere. The chocolate that Taza produces is stone ground, which gives its a much different, almost “gritty” texture (according to one of our students, Celine). Still, there was no denying that the chocolate we were tasting was delicious.
The tour began at the beginning of the process, naturally. Our guide talked about how the Cacao beans are harvested and where the vision of Taza was born. Luckily, we had a few spanish speaking students to help our guide in her spanish pronunciation! Oscar was quick to correct her pronunciation of the small Mexican towns that Taza works with to harvest the beans needed for Chocolate making. The next step in our tour was to venture into the room where the beans were roasted and separated into what we later learned are called nibs, but first, we had to put on our hairnets!
We got to see the chocolate from start to finish, with lots and lots of sampling along the way! It was cool to see how many of the ingredients come from countries that our students call home! Some students took home some tasty souveniers, and others at least got to say that they visited a very unique place in Boston!
In terms of favorite chocolate flavors, mine was definitely the salted almond (I think I ate the whole sample pile…) but if you want to try them out on your own, be sure to visit the Taza Chocolate Factory!
