Whether you love cacao beans, traditional chocolate squares, or dark chocolate batons topped with Himilayan or smokey salt, we have just the spot where you can try all of these delicious bites.
Lucky for you, an all-new chocolate-themed village dubbed ‘Choco Town’ with scrumptious samples and plenty of epic photo ops has finally opened its decadent gates in Troy. Since we got a first look, we have the inside scoop on all the chocolate you must try at this delicious adventure. Here’s a sampling at what you’ll taste, but of course, expect a few more surprises along the way!
After you check in at Citizen Center, grab your Taste Personality Profile, and you’ll get a quest map that shows you all of the neighborhoods of this unique town of candied treasures. You’ll try about 16 pieces of chocolate at tasting stations throughout the entire experience. Here are our standouts!
Are you a supertaster?
At Choco Town, be prepared to taste chocolate like you never have! Find out if you’re a supertaster at the Choco Citizen Gate. Staffers will pass around the PTC Test Paper, which you’ll put on your tongue. If you taste something bitter, then you are a supertaster. This means you’ll get some pretty intense flavors during the experience!
Chocolate melts in your mouth at the Mindful Melting Tasting Station
The Mindful Melting Tasting Station can be found in the Main Town Square, where you’ll get a little lesson on the history of chocolate, get an introduction to cacao beans, and then try this delicious tasting experiment to see what suits you best.
You won’t want to miss these decadent bites of chocolate buttons that melt in your mouth. But it has to be a conscious experience! Smell the chocolate and take in its fantastic aroma, then place it on your tongue, pushing it to the roof of your mouth to let it melt slowly to capture all the flavors.
📍Town Square of Choco Town 🏛️
Make a stop at the butcher for some salami-shaped chocolate
Next, you’ll venture to the colorful Bon Bon Boulevard … and take it from us, you’re not going to want to leave. There’s a hair salon for all the hot town gossip, The Gummy Bear Spa for Hug Therapy, and even a disco, but we’re here for the main event… the chocolate! Stop by the Choco Sons Butcher Shop for some delicious salami-shape pieces. You’ll be amazed at how much it looks like a real slab of salami but tastes like the chocolaty goodness you know and love!
📍Choco Sons Butcher Shop on Bon Bon Boulevard 🍖🍫
Get Salty on Bon Bon Boulevard
While we love traditional sweet treats, if you love savory bites, you have to try these excellent chocolates at the ‘Take It With a Pinch of Salt’ tasting experiment. Two sweet batons were doused with Himalayan and smoked salt, and we couldn’t help but love them both equally while enjoying the different distinct flavors accentuated by the salts. It comes down to a science, though, adding salt to your chocolate actually activates the ENaC receptor on your tongue, triggering that feeling of happiness you get when you eat it. That’s something anyone can get behind for a bit of dopamine!
📍Located across from The Gummy Bear Spa on Bon Bon Boulevard 🧂🍫
Check out the Chocophonica Soundbath in Downtown Choco Town
Venture to Downtown Choco Town to stir up your tastebuds, accompanied by a sound experiment. Guests will get three samples and then step into the soundbath to taste each piece—albeit mindfully, while you enjoy 1-minute tracks.
And we’ve got some more science for you. If you eat chocolate with a low-pitched sound, taste receptors shrink, making the treat taste more bitter. But, if you try it with a high-pitched sound, your entire mouth will enjoy a “sugary” bath of sweetness. Pretty cool, right?!
📍Downtown Choco Town 🏙️
See how scent plays a role at the Smellovision station in Edge O’ Town
Did you know that 80% of what you experience through your tastebuds is actually because of smell? Don’t leave Choco Town without heading over to Edge O’ Town for another fun-tasting experiment. Here, you’ll experience Smellovision to see how scent plays a role in tasting ruby chocolate. You’ll try three scents before each bite, including Yogurt, Berry, and Vanilla—delicious notes found in these chocolate samples.
📍Edge O’ Town across from the non-scary chocolaty graveyard 🍬🪦
Quality Over Quantity in Candy Carnival
At the Quality Over Quantity tasting area, you’ll try three squares of chocolate, all with different percentages, including 50%, 60%, and 70%. As you mindfully taste the chocolate, you can see which suits your fancy the best, but know that the higher the percentage, the more cocoa solids the chocolate has!
📍Find it in Candy Carnival 🎡🎠🍫
The Big Chocolate Personality Reveal
After you leave the Hyper Sweet Funhouse ball pit, you’ll get your chocolate personality revealed if you’ve been keeping score of all of the experiments you’ve done throughout the entire ‘Choco Town’ experience! The personality types include the radical tongue, the taste crusader, the appetite adventurer, the hunger hedonist, the flavor savior, and the palate purist. After that’s been decided, you’ll get more…you guessed it, chocolate that’s literally tailored to your specific taste.
Stop by the cafe for more delicious treats
You’ll also want to stop at the Choco Town cafe at the end of the experience. This sweet little spot is choc-full of yummy treats and all kinds of coffee to enjoy. Plus, this part of town is open to the public. There’s also a slew of fun merch like T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and more right across from the coffee shop.
📍Choco Town’s last stop ☕🍫or find it across from A&W inside Oakland Mall!