Mast Brothers Chocolate Tour and Tasting October 30, 2010

The Mast brothers are the pioneers of craft chocolate as the city's only bean-to-bar chocolate maker. Owned and operated by Rick and Michael Mast, Mast Brothers Chocolate has skyrocketed into international acclaim, being used by renowned chefs and discriminating foodies alike.

The magic happens at their factory, which hits you with an intoxicating aroma of rich chocolate as soon as you walk in. There, you'll get to see the entire chocolate-making process, from the sifting of cacao beans (the 150-pound bags, which come from Venezuela, the Dominican Republic or Madagascar, can produce 500 bars of chocolate!) to the finished product. "It's great — most people would never have seen a cocoa bean before . . . here, you can touch them, crack them, see them roasted," Rick Mast says. Or, you can see part of the three-day "conching" process, during which the sugar is added to the chocolate and churned to smooth it all out, using only the heat generated by the friction of the spinning machines.

The tour wraps up with a sampling of the five different kinds of chocolate they make, so you can taste how each bean creates a different flavor.

Book tours well in advance — they fill up quickly.

Official Website: http://www.mastbrotherschocolate.com/