Chocolate Manufactory Tasting Journey At York Cocoa Works

Fully expected a factory tour watching the manufacturing of chocolate with some nice samples for the price paid. We were greeted by a pleasant very knowledgeable young lady who spoke very quickly . There were a group of 8 of us and we were showed pictures of coffee beans in the cafe window the preparation of the beans was explained and we were then invited to taste 4 very small samples ( chocolate button size ) THAT WAS IT. Then felt obliged to purchase a chocolate bar at an inflated price of £16 (worth £4 to £5) Certainly a tourist rip-off

2 adults and 2 teenagers took part in the tasting tour. Really interesting and the young lady who delivered the experience was very good. We also booked lolly making for the girls and they loved this.

We really enjoyed it and learned lots, the lady who did it was very friendly and knew her stuff and the chocolate tasting was great

Very informative, lied the coco journey and yes ! the taste. came away with my favourite chocolate and some compost can’t wait to use it on my potted mint. thank you x

Our presenter had a memorized script that she zipped through very fast. It may have been due to the shop being understaffed, because she seemed to be preoccupied with the front door traffic and activuty at the register while presenting to us. The session ended abruptly after she finished her script. I and the other attendees all seemed unsure if it was over or not.

The person showing us round was very informative and could interact with the people . Gave us a taster session which was enjoyable

It was fascinating since I had never seen a cocoa bean. But it was brief, only 30 minutes in all. The presenter was very good but could have spoken a little more slowly. Overall would recommend if you want to learn about chocolate.

Good fun, very educational, enjoyable. Would recommend highly!

This was a fascinating experience. We learned a lot about chocolate and really enjoyed ourselves. Chloe was a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. We ended up buying some chocolate - it tastes so much better than standard chocolate available at home. Both my husband and I loved this tour!

Fun and informative experience! Not super high tech but we learned a lot and found a new appreciation for the cocoa bean .Would definitely recommend 👌

We ate chocolate after learning about how it was made. Very informative and well delivered! Would go again

Such a good day out! Very engaging, well thought out structure of event. From learning about the different types of plants and how their taste varies, to actually tasting the difference even with the same proportions of other ingredients. Learned loads and makes me think differently about chocolate. Would go again and recommend it to everyone.

The Cocoa Works includes a shop, a cafe, lots of information about chocolate making and the workshop itself. There is also a classroom for larger groups. The guide was excellent and knowledgeable and related really well to my teen grandsons, with a mix of interesting facts and humour. The tasting was very good and we all learned a lot about the chocolate making process. Well worth a visit.

The talk was really interesting & the guide very engaging & passionate . The tasting again was interesting , learning about the origin of chocolate & how the different flavours & depths are developed . Only 30mins in total but I guess it could be longer if the group was bigger & more questions asked, however for the price it was a nice way to spend a bit of time .

We had a group of 5 adults with one tour guide who was very knowledgeable. It took 50 minutes, about half learning about chocolate making and half tasting 5 different types of chocolate. Good value - would definitely recommend.

The information said that we would be on a tour that would show us chocolate being made. We chose this experience as we knew the weather was awful and so planned for experienced out of the rain. I never leave a bad review but if this experience was promoted as standing outside a few windows and being shown the machinery involved for the ‘tour’ and then sitting at a table and given chocolate drops to taste, we would not have booked. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable and the information interesting but nothing you couldn’t have googled. I do feel this should be explained more clearly in the pro token materials and do think it was very misleading.

We (my mum, sister and I) really enjoyed listening to the history and the making of chocolate and Sam was very engaging. We loved tasting the chocolate and understanding the differences. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming and informal. I will be back to purchase this exquisite chocolate! Thank you.

Really entertaining and informative. Our guide, Sam, was very knowledgeable and engaging. And the chocolate was delicious!

Greg is a knowledgeable, personable and extremely kind guide. We would recommend the experience to both children and adults alike.

This was an amazing experience! Learnt so much in a really fun and memorable way The tasting was really well guided and really interesting George was a fantastic knowladgeable and freindly host and made it a fantastic experience.

We visited as a group of ladies on 4th December in an afternoon session and we were greeted by our tour guide George with a big smile and a very warm welcome to the York Cocoa Works. George excitedly explained the process of chocolate making and everything that goes into making the delicious chocolates we get to consume. We really enjoyed listening to him speak about the process, asking questions along the way and the most interesting thing we found is how lovingly George spoke of the process, despite the amount of times he's likely told this story. He still seems very passionate about the process and the story behind it which was lovely to see. We really enjoyed our experience and getting to taste chocolates made from cocoa from different countries makes your senses realise the different notes the cocoa beans can bring. It was educational and full and we absolutely loved our time there. At the end of the tour we also got 10% off in the shop/cafe so we all left armed with bags of chocolate of course!

Our guide was Chloe who did a great job at explaining the whole process from start to the finish product! The tour was very informative and Chloe was able to answer all the questions thrown at her. My partner and I found it really interesting, I would suggest that it’s more adult friendly and not designed for kids. The tasting at the end was again informative and fun :) Would recommend if you want a smaller more local business type that’s hands on and informative.

With rain forecast for the following day we decided to book an indoor activity. Having been to Cadbury World I was expecting something similar but this was more interesting. The tour began by looking at machinery and people working through the shop window. As we had hoped to avoid the rain we were not expecting this, but the rain held off, and we were able to find out about some of the processes involved. Inside the shop, more of the processes were explained, we looked at cocoa pods and nibs and soon realised why chocolate is increasingly expensive. Then we moved on the the tasting which was a bit like wine tasting. The samples were from different countries and were between 65% and 80% cocoa beans. One of the visitors said he didn't like dark chocolate but, in the cause of science, agreed to try it. We were instructed to let the chocolate dissolve on our tongues and look at a chart to help us decide what flavours came through. To our surprise, each sample tasted very different. (Mr 'I don't like dark chocolate' was converted.) We were shown the ingredients for white chocolate - cocoa butter, a lot of sugar, and milk powder! Milk chocolate is rather generic as the beans come from a variety of places which are blended, then mixed with sugar and milk powder. It tasted very bland after the rich flavours of the dark chocolate. We spent a very interesting time exploring chocolate and then enjoyed 10% off in the café and shop. Possibly not an experience younger children would particularly enjoy as they generally prefer milk chocolate. However older ones, who can let chocolate dissolve on their tongues, might be surprised by the various flavours.

We had an amazing time on this experience. Greg came to find us and greeted us, as we arrived early and had a drink, in the café first. On the tour he explained where the different cocoa beans came from (i.e. which countries) and talked us through the processes of transforming the coca beans into chocolate. After this we had a chocolate tasting, this was very insightful, and it was very surprising, tasting the difference in the chocolate from the beans from different countries. It really was a very insightful, educational experience which was made all the better for the passion and knowledge Greg passed on to us. We have been fortunate to go all over the world and go on other cocoa/chocolate experiences, non of those compared to this experience, so I highly recommend booking this.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the chocolate tasting tour but it was brilliant! Learned so much about how chocolate is made and also the amazing variety of tastes achieved from the different cocoa beans. I was sceptical I would taste much difference but was amazed how complex the chocolate was. I can only describe it as like whiskey tasting with a journey of flavour that changes over the time as you eat it. Sounds highbrow but honestly it was done with such fun and enthusiasm from our chocolatier guide, Greg. He really made the experience! He was amazing with our kids too and really got them involved. A brilliant experience and well worth it. Greg is a jewel for this business and we were so impressed with his knowledge and enthusiasm. Highly recommend.

The tour was packed with information and our guide helped us through the hallmarks of the cocoa bean from the utilizing the chaf as a by product to explanations of the different forms and taste of the beans and the different parts of the whole pod. I was pleased to learn that the company sources directly from the farmers by quality, not quantity. Fun to learn and taste.

Very interesting and informative experience. Learnt so much about chocolate, where it comes from and the processes involved from getting the plant into chocolate. I’ve never seen inside a real cocoa pod before. And tasted chocolate from beans grown in different countries. Good value .

Lovely experience. The whole processing of making chocolates were detailed explained by our tour guide and the chocolates we tried were delicious!

The tour was great. So much information about the process and the different types of chocolate. Maya was very knowledgeable and we couldn't believe she was new to the role. The chocolate itself was delicious.

Interesting talk about chocolate and how it's made, ending with a tasting session, nice experience..

Very disappointing and overpriced, when we arrived we was taken outside in the cold to look through a window at machinery and listened to a member of staff talk about cocoa beans with some flip cards as a prompt. We had 2 children with us an 8 year old & 6 year old so they were absolutely freezing. After a while we finally went inside and we were sat down at a bench, we got to see and touch different cocoa beans from around the world. Then came the chocolate tasting, again highly disappointing as there was 5 tiny pieces of mainly dark chocolate, 1 milk which had different strengths of cocoa in as you can appreciate the children didn’t enjoy this part as it was too bitter for their taste buds. I asked the manager if there was anything she could give them as an alternative maybe a bar of milk chocolate to takeaway and she gave us all a free milk chocolate truffle each. I think the whole experience was a complete waste of money, we were not even offered a drink to warm up after being stood in the cold for so long. I do not recommend this to family’s with children as it’s not at all child friendly and certainly not worth £40 for a family of 4 for 40 mins of not a lot for your money.

Waste of money. Inadequate samples to taste. Spoken to in a manner that made me feel like i was back at school. Was invited to leave a review on booking.com but it was not posted. The only thing I learnt with this experience was that booking.com do not post any negative reviews. I feel misled and very disappointed.

£12.50 each for less than an hour looking at machines through a window and tasting very limited amounts of chocolate. Spoken to as if I was a child expected to answer questions about information I had been told. I do not recommend this 'experience ' at all.

Tasting was fun, not special. Just sat at a table with the group and guessed stuff about the chocolate together. Tour was smaller than expected. Everything only one hour total. Learnt how the chocolate making process went and learnt especially much about how to create flavour. And about how a small manufacturing business works/looks like. Nice not superb.

Lovely chocolate of course, tasting talk very relaxed and interesting, even got attention of my.16 yr old Daughter

A brilliant little, very informative tour with some delicious chocolate tasting of course!! Sarah was fabulous, such a good tour host!!

Very welcoming, informative and all round brilliant. Loved every minute of it, from the history down to the tasting. Not to mention there’s 10% off in store for when you’ve finished :)

I was really disappointed. I feel I booked the wrong trip as I was expecting it to be a story about the history of chocolate making in York. The chocolate was all dark and bitter and myself and my daughter couldn’t eat it. Total waste of money.

Our guide was Matthew who was likeable, knowledgeable and made the whole time really accessible interesting and answered all our questions. We were instantly absorbed and attentive ( girls are 11 and 13) as he took us through the process from pod to chocolate and it was great to hold an actual coca pod as well as tasting each different intensity of chocolate. We stayed afterwards in the café area which was air conditioned with lovely comfortable chairs and sofas and very friendly staff. Would highly recommend it!

This was a very interesting and informative tour. Lots of facts that described the journey from bean to bar. The tasting session was fun and rounded off the tour well. Our guide was knowledgeable and led the tour really well. An affordable and worthwhile tour lasting approx ¾hr.

Superb experience. Guide was so informative and knowledgable, not to mention patient with some of the younger guests! His enthusiasm for the subject was only rivalled by his knowledge and I came away knowing a great deal more about dark and white chocolate than I would have thought. Very tasty treat too - would do again if in York.

We started our day the coco works. Fantastic tour and the lady that did our tour was awesome. Took us through all the stages of making chocolate and finished off with tasting. Great activity for the family. We did as part of our York pass. Booking is needed.

The young lass that held this was very informative and definitely knew her stuff. We went for something to do that was different and didn't regret doing it.

Great experience, small group and felt the tasting was tailored to you. Went through the whole manufacturing process. We were able to purchase chocolate at a discount as we did the tasting

Visited here with family as treat for my Mum. Very enjoyable tour which explains full chocolate story from source to end product. Staff very knowledgeable and engaging. Able to buy products at end of tour and enjoyed hot chocolate drink. Would highly recommend but don’t get tour mixed up with the one at Yorks Chocolate Story like we did as it’s an 8 min walk to this tour from the other tour.

Excellent informative introduction to chocolate and how it’s made. Tasting of a small selection of chocolate illustrating how taste is influenced. Only £9.50 each which includes 10% off everything in the shop and cafe. Mocha and latte coffees were excellent. I had a problem booking our tour and staff were very helpful over the phone.

Went here as part of the York Pass. You get a tour of the chocolate factory. Due to hygiene measures, you are not in the factory, but you look through the windows into it. The tour was interesting. Next you get to try the different kinds of chocolate they make (dark, milk, white). They have a small shop where you can buy their chocolate. They all tasted good. Would recommend.

We had an excellent family experience here. The tour is very interesting and the chocolatier is very knowledgeable. The kids particularly loved tasting the chocolate and we thought it was well with the visit. They are unique and sourcing directly from the chocolate farms.

This experience was absolutely fantastic. My tour was run by Jacob (I think that was his name) and he was very knowledgeable and explained all aspects of cocoa manufacturing and production in great detail but in ways that made it very easy to understand. The tasting experience was an absolute delight, the locations and types of cocoa bean were explained thoroughly and how to taste the chocolate using your palate and all your senses truly was fascinating. The downside was that the shop had no items that were advertised and most of the group left without making a purchase. It is what it is, because our guide really was brilliant. He made the experience worth it and I'd be delighted to return when I'm next in York.