WELCOME
Herzlich willkommen, welcome, benvenuti!
We are very pleased to welcome you to our chocolate experience manufactory. Travel with us on the trail of the cocoa bean, around the world, to the handmade Craigher chocolate. On our pleasure tour you will learn a lot of interesting facts from the discovery in the times of the Maya and Aztecs, to distant cultivation areas to exciting films about the individual production steps of this high-quality natural product. With this in mind, we wish you lots of fun tasting, enjoying, discovering and being amazed.
STATION 1
The Cacao Bean – Were it all began.
On Columbus' 4th voyage, which began on May 9, 1502 and took him to Guanaja on August 15, 1502, he was the first European to see cocoa. On this day, Admiral Columbus encountered a fully loaded Maya boat. Columbus had the boat boarded and the crew and cargo brought to his caravel. The Spanish noticed that whenever a cocoa bean fell, Mayas immediately bent down to pick it up. Why the natives attached so much importance to these beans remained hidden to Columbus for lack of an interpreter. Columbus himself never tried chocolate. The Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez found out that the Aztecs used the cocoa bean as currency and that they prepared a drink called Xocolatl.
STATION 2
The Taste of Cocoa
Try the pure ,,xocolatl“ of the Aztheks. Crushed beans with herbs like chili and kurkuma.
How does it taste for you?
Now, afterwards, let’s taste hot Craigher chocolate from nowadays!
STATION 3
Chocolate over generations!
We are a family business in the third and fourth generation and look back on more than 100 years of family history. Tradition and innovation are constant companions in our family business and so the idea of founding Carinthia's first chocolate adventure factory was born in 2016. A central part of our philosophy is the clear commitment to craftsmanship. Each product is made entirely by hand without preservatives. This means that no product is like the other!
STATION 4
The oldest textil of human being!
Extracting the bark of the fig tree is a social project that supports 600 families in Uganda, where the cocoa plant is also native. The bark is also particularly sustainable because it grows back and the tree does not have to be felled. Touch the pattern of mankind's oldest textile and UNESCO World Heritage Site 2008! We have refined our entire furniture here in this world of experience with the textile. In the film you can see great impressions of how the oldest textile known to mankind and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 is made.
STATION 5
The different types of beans.
The variety of cocoa beans is enormous and where does which bean grow? Similar to wine, the soil also makes a significant contribution to the flavor profile of the cocoa bean. There are two basic types of cocoa beans - the CRIOLLO bean means local and the FORASTERO means the foreigner. And the hybrid of the two is called TRINITARIO bean. The cacao tree is a shade plant that grows under banana and coconut trees. The fruit is 15-20 cm long, weighs 500g and is yellow to red when picked. There are 30-60 beans in the fruit.
STATION 6
The taste of origin!
Here you can taste the pure form of crushed cacao beans which are very healthy and very rich of magnesium. Next, please taste the 100% cocoa mass in the form of a small coin. The 100% cocoa mass is created by grinding the nibs with large rollers. The clearly noticeable bitter substances are created by the heat during rolling
STATION 7
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FROM COCOA BEAN TO COCOA MASS.
Learn interesting facts from the cocoa bean to the cocoa mass. An exciting manufacturing journey begins.
You can restart the film at any time with the button.
STATION 8
Tasting spot for everyone with a sweet tooth.
Try chocolates from different countries with low percentage of cacao!
Enjoy!
STATION 9
THE COCOA MASS BECOMES CHOCOLATE.
Here the chocolate gets its shape and the process of refining with different ingredients begins. The end of an exciting manufacturing journey. The cocoa mass is processed with the cocoa butter, sugar, milk powder and vanilla into a chocolate dough using fine rollers. Then the dough goes into the conching machine to reduce the residual moisture and to achieve a perfect creaminess. Another important product in the manufacturing process is the cocoa powder. The cocoa powder is produced by pressing the cocoa butter out of the cocoa mass under a pressure of 600 bar. What remains is the pressed or cocoa cake, which is processed into cocoa powder by grating.
You can restart the film at any time with the button.
STATION 10
It blinks by the correct answer!
First chooce a topic on the left, press it, and afterwards try to press the right answer!
STATION 11
THE CONCHING MACHINE
In chocolate production, the conching machine, also known as the conche for short, is a special kneading and stirring mechanism that makes the melting character of the end product possible. In 1879, the Swiss chocolate manufacturer Rudolf Lindt achieved a decisive improvement in chocolate production with his invention of the conche. By conching the chocolate, the crumbly, sandy chocolate was transformed into a melt-in-the-mouth, fine-creamy and easily digestible product.
Lindt realized that he needed to extract more moisture from this chocolate mass to prevent the sugar from crystallizing. He constructed a stirring machine called a "longitudinal scribe." The stirring mechanism, which takes 72 hours, and heat reduce the residual moisture to less than one percent.
STATION 12
The chocolate quiz!
A surprising question and answer game about the exciting world of chocolate! Test your knowledge of cocoa and find the right answers in the drawer of an African medicine cabinet made from recycled boat planks.
STATION 13
The fairytale-throne!
Please, take a seat and start the audio adventure on your guide.
STATION 14
ENJOYMENT IS FUN
Taste filled chocolates and delicate chocolate chips sprinkled in different ways. Try the chocolate memory game, puzzles or assemble a cocoa fruit. Especially the little visitors get their money's worth here!
STATION 15
LIFE LIKE IN THE MOVIE
Here you can expect a journey through the family history of the Craighers and a lot of surprising and interesting facts about the origin of cocoa. Exciting impressions from the pollination of the flower to the fermentation to the shipping of the fine beans to Europe. The film also offers sensational insights into the craft and art of the chocolatier!
STATION 16
A PHOTO FOR REMEMBERING
Memory and fun are guaranteed, because this photo is fun not only to look at, but also to create.
But now quickly behind the photo box, put your head through the wall and let your companion take great photos via smartphone.
We'd love for you to post your photos on social media and share your experience with friends and family. #craigher chocolate
STATION 17
OUR "HEART" FRAMED IN GOLD
A film about the subtle craftsmanship at Craigher Chocolate Manufactory. You can almost feel it, how the delicious Craigher chocolates are created.
STATION 18
Different ways of dark chocolate!
A film about the subtle craftsmanship at Craigher Chocolate Manufactory. You can almost feel it, how the delicious Craigher chocolates are created.
STATION 19
Our Live-Manufactury!
All the love and passion of our craft lies in our handmade products. With a lot of care and sensitivity, sweet delicacies are created here in our small chocolate factory. Craft conveys exclusivity and love for the product. No two products are the same, which makes them unique and something very special.
- True to the motto "Love of craftsmanship that you can taste".
– For the production of our handmade chocolates we only use cocoa from sustainable cultivation and therefore support the "Growing Great Chocolate" program. We do not use preservatives or colorings in any of our chocolate specialties and there is no place for flavor enhancers in our chocolate either. Our sweet delicacies have a limited shelf life due to the avoidance of chemical additives. But chocolate should be eaten immediately rather than stored for a long time anyway...
STATION 20
THAT'S THE TASTE OF THE WIDE WORLD!
20 degrees north and south of the equator is the cocoa belt. On the big map you can discover the main growing areas of cocoa. Taste different chocolates from the most important countries of origin. Can you taste the fine different of the each region?
STATION 21
EVERY GLASS – ITS OWN STORY.
Cocoa beans from far away corners of the world, in lovingly hand-written jars, adorn the wooden wall while Dominikus Craigher checks the quality of the beans. The imposing shelf and ceiling are custom-made from 200-year-old reclaimed wood. Our beans come from sustainable cultivation. Do you hear that? This is the sound of the chocolate songs that the plantation workers sing at work.
STATION 22
MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHICH CHOCOLATE IS THE BEST ...?
Here you will get an overview of the chocolate variations produced in-house - purely by hand.
Glad you were there!
How did you enjoy your journey of discovery? Can't get out of your amazement?
Then we would be happy about a positive feedback or a rating on Facebook, Google or TripAdvisor.
Fancy chocolate? Then visit our store and explore our chocolate variety.
However, you are also welcome to spend your remaining time in our cozy coffeehouse discussing your experience and at home at your leisure order your favorite Craigher chocolate from our online store, have it delivered and ENJOY SIMPLE HAPPINESS alone or together.
We are already looking forward to your next visit.
Your family Craigher