Oban
Chocolates are made entirely by hand by our crack team
of chocolatiers. Working closely, we create new chocolates
on an ongoing basis, each individual able to develop their
own chocolates from start to finish resulting in a diverse
range of chocolate delights
The
shop and cafe are open plan and you can see the chocolatiers
at work through a viewing window into the factory and
interpretive panels help to explain the processes.
Production
times vary but we are generally making chocolates between
late morning and early afternoon. We produce most days
from Easter to October (but not usually on Sundays - our
chocolatiers need a day off!)
The
Chocolates
There
are two types of chocolates made at the Oban Chocolate
factory. The first is the truffle. Made with a fresh cream
ganache, the truffles are all rolled and coated in chocolate
by hand –a very time consuming process but you can
really taste the difference.
Moulded
chocolates are the other type produced. In order to achieve
a good shine and ‘snap’ with a mould, the
chocolate itself must be tempered well. Tempering the
chocolate involves a combination of temperature and movement
whereby the crystalline structure of the chocolate is
altered. We use a small machine to do this for us but
it still takes a high degree of skill to get it just right!
All
our recipes have been developed ‘in-house’
and because we avoid artificial preservatives, which we
believe, ironically, result in a stale tasting chocolate,
our chocolates have a shelf life of approximately 6-8
weeks from production. Just means you have a good excuse
to eat them all at once!
Please
note that we are closed in January.
|