Maison Cailler

My intention with the following text is literally to make you mouth water by telling you about a world-renowned product and for which I had the marvellous opportunity to visit a factory that produces it. I am talking about the famous Cailler Chocolates. Located in the city of Broc, Switzerland. The Cailler Chocolates are just another of the many products under the internationally-renowned brand of Nestlé.

On my journey to Switzerland, as well as discovering amazing places like the Swiss Vapeur Parc I also had the privilege of seeing the Cailler Mansion and its production plant. As soon as you get to Broc, a small but beautiful city in French Switzerland that is about 40 minutes by car or an hour and a half by train from Montreux or Vevey. You can smell the aroma of chocolates, which is not nothing here because almost all of the world's production of chocolate is consumed in Switzerland, and this is a small country, the size of which is 27 times smaller than that of Colombia and the population barely exceeds that of the Colombian capital, Bogotá. It is where this food, known as the sweet of love, is most consumed.

Upon arriving at this place you will see a fountain and, behind it, the traditional Cailler mansion. On the right of this you will see a small structure with a very particular shape that reminds me of the nest of a toche, a bird native to Colombia. This place costs 12 Swiss francs (11 euros or 38 thousand Colombian pesos) for adults or 9 francs (8 euros or 28 thousand pesos) if you present your student card, and this same rate applies to children (under 16).

After paying the tariff they assign you a group and an hour in which to go to the exhibition. Whilst you wait you can go to the gift shop which will make you feel as though you have entered into paradise, if you are a lover of chocolate. You will find a kind of stand in the entrance with the Cailler staff that will give you what appears to be a remote control, but it is actually an audio device that you can use to listen to all the stories about the manufacturing of this delicious product. What is great is that it can be listened to in more than 5 languages, including Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and so on.

The screens will show if your group is still pending a time, or if it is time for your group to go to the exhibition. It is very similar to an airport in this sense. Once your group is called, you go into a room which begins the adventure.

Where does chocolate come from?

The first part talks about the history of cocoa, transporting you to the past and to America. Here they talk about the Aztecs, who were a pre-Hispanic civilization established in Mexico. They though that this fruit was a gift from the gods that gave man strength, and they offered it to the Spanish colonialists that were led by Hernán Cortés.

Black gold

Then they open a new door and you will be taken to a boat which brings you back to Europe, informing you on how the Spaniards saw this product in their society, and how it was considered to be like black gold due to its important value.

Chocolate in Europe

Then, along the route you will see the transition of chocolate throughout European society from its beginnings, becoming considered a drink that prompted sin until its acceptance again.

The chocolatier geniuses called François Cailler and Henri Nestlé

Following all this you will then hear about the story of François Cailler, who was one of the pioneers of chocolate production, opening the first chocolate factory in the world almost 200 years ago, and how his ingenuity helped him create his own machines that helped him in the production process. They also talk about how he ended up joining Nestle who had invented porridge. This gave him the strength during difficult times like those during the wars, and they have therefore been able to prevail together over time. Which turned out to be a success and that has made this chocolate one of the most prestigious worldwide.

Production of the Cailler chocolates

Now we have reached one of my favourite parts: the production zone. Here you will see every one of the ingredients used by Cailler, from the cocoa to the beetroot, which is where they get the sugar from. Apart from this, you will see where in the world each raw material is found as well as all the production equipment from the farmers to the labourers that carry the products and the heads of the plants. As well as other people who make it possible for us to enjoy a delicious Cailler Chocolate.

After this we move on to what looked like wine tasting, but instead of wines it was some good chocolates. This is at the same time that we see how the machines and their operators are working on the development of the different products.

To eat them all

Finally, we arrive at the tasting table. You will find samples of the various and the best Cailler products. You won't want to leave without trying all of them as they are all unique, but equally delicious. Dark chocolate, white chocolate, filled chocolate, squared chocolate, bars, bite-size pieces, nougat, in short there are many shapes and flavours, but only one brand... Cailler.

After all this, you cannot leave without leaving a comment about the products, in the language you wish to use, whilst you watch a big screen. Then, at the end, you can take a photo in the factory that you can have sent to your email. In the end you end up where you started so you can buy some good chocolates as souvenirs and say thanks to Cailler and Nestlé for everything they did that meant that, almost 200 years later, you could enjoy this great experience.

If you want more information about this place, you can use the following link: https://www.cailler.ch/en/