Written by Jonathan Brouillette on 12.06.17

Chocolate: the emotional equivalent of the Band-aid. As part of the Americas, we are spoiled with the amount of chocolate producing countries and we don’t even know it. However, if you visit Cacao70 in their brand new factory, you will come out knowing more about chocolate than you thought possible.

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Aside from their delicious chocolate filled drinks and food, Cacao70 La Fabrique will give you a firsthand view into the wonderful world of chocolate making.

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A stone’s throw from the Lachine Canal in Point-Saint-Charles, that is where you will find this chocolate factory. As you walk in, you pass by several giant machines each in some stage or other of chocolate production. At the end of the hall sits the actual café and chocolate restaurant.

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Chocolate swirls in vast tanks ready to be enjoyed by eager Charlie-esque chocolate fans. With a raised seating area, anyone who comes can enjoy the sight of a chocolate factory in full function. Large glass panels separate the two areas, though that’s probably to protect all that wonderful cocoa.

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The restaurant serves the same wonderful chocolate inspired dishes that you have come to love at other Cacao70 locations, but with the added bonus of three fully functional chocolate fountains: 70% chocolate, Earl Grey chocolate, and Matcha chocolate. The three are out of this world and fully worth the drenching of calories that you will receive.

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What makes this Cacao70 stand out, aside from the visuals, will be the opportunity to tour the chocolate making factory section. You’ll learn that chocolate, like coffee, is currently waging a battle of sustainable and fair-trade practices.

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You will also see the many stages that the fermented cocoa nuts go through as they make their way into chocolate bars. It was a startling revelation that we knew so little about chocolate and what actually happens in the process.

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It also explains why, for example, one chocolate is crunchier than another, or why some chocolates tend to melt in your mouth as if by magic! This is a completely worthwhile tour for the foodie in anyone, especially kids!

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Did we mention there are tastings? Oh yes! At the end of the tour, you will be able to make your own “artisanal” chocolate bar. By this, we mean that you will be given some cocoa, some raw cane sugar, and a little cocoa butter which you will, through a little arm-power, turn into a DIY take-home chocolate bar! Though, if we are being honest, it’s more like a lot of arm power… working a mortar and pestle for any period of time is hard!

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All in all, Cacao70 La Fabrique brings something new to the flood of chocolate restaurants. It gives you information. It teaches you to appreciate the subtleties of chocolate just like a trip to Napa Valley might teach you to appreciate wine. So, the next time you are strolling about Atwater Market wondering where you can get an emotional Band-aid, don’t look to the pharmacy: take the 15 min walk along the beautiful canal to Cacao70 La Fabrique. See you there; we’ll be the ones filling our coffee mug in the chocolate fountain.

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1751 Rue Richardson Unit T10, Montreal, QC H3K 1G6
(514) 935-8868

Photos by Jonathan Brouillette (@darksteelangel).

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