How many chocolate museums does Belgium need? There currently at least four in Bruges, Brussels, Eupen and Halle (the latter two are on a company’s site and have limited access). Nearby, Cologne also has a great museum which even hosts a chocolate factory inside. According to chocolate wrappers, there are about 40 chocolate museums in the world.
The story starts 4,000 years back with the various uses of cocoa. The initial use was religious. Mayans mixed cocoa with beans and blood as an offering to their gods. Chocolate-flavoured drinks were consumed at baptisms, weddings and funerals. Even today in Latin America, cocoa drinks are more popular than chocolate and remains part of the regular diet.
When cocoa arrived via Spain in Europe in the 16th century, it was first sold in pharmacies and used for medicinal purposes. It then evolved into a luxury item - the preferred drink for sovereigns, priests and the wealthy.
In the 17th century, chocolate houses with a touch of snobbery emerged, for example in England. In the 18th century, one pound of chocolate cost 5 days’ wages. By the 19th century, chocolate evolved into a mass consumption good. In 1860, Napoleon declared that chocolate had become a staple food - no longer a luxury, nor a delicacy.
Solid chocolate was only invented in the 1800s. and it took Neuhaus until 1912 to invent the praline, turning chocolate once again into a delicacy. Since then, chocolate has acquired an image of an indulgence, in sharp contrast to its earlier medicinal use.
So is chocolate healthy? According to the museum exhibits, chocolate does not make you fat. It lowers cholesterol and does not make you liverish. It’s difficult to qualify these claims, but probably in moderation, they stand up to scrutiny. Black chocolate is healthier than white or milk chocolate because of the higher cocoa content.
Presenting all this information to children can be overwhelming. Therefore, a small mascot gives short comments with text balloons throughout the museum.
Any chocolate museum must cover the production process in some manner. What Choco-Story offers in addition is a very nice demonstration at the end that pulls it all together.
The visit ends in a shop with a wide variety of books, products and souvenirs.
Among the 40 chocolate museums in the world, Choco-Story is not a bad choice if you happen to be around Bruges. But if you’ve seen the story of chocolate before, you’ll have a déjà-vu.
