Exploring The Language Barrier At Cologne's Chocolate Museum

The Chocolate Museum in Cologne is a popular tourist attraction, with around 650,000 visitors a year. The museum takes visitors on a journey through the 3,000-year cultural history of chocolate, from the cocoa tree to the modern chocolate-making process. There are various exhibits, including a greenhouse, a chocolate fountain, and a collection of historic items. The museum also offers praline and chocolate-making courses, as well as guided tours for school classes and other events.

English is widely spoken in Cologne, particularly by young people, and many of the museum's exhibits and tours are available in English. The museum's website is also available in English.

History of the museum

The Chocolate Museum in Cologne, Germany, was founded by German chocolatier Dr Hans Imhoff in 1993 and has since become one of the city's most popular attractions, receiving around 650,000 visitors a year. The museum offers about 4,000 tours annually, enriching the visual experience with tasting opportunities.

The museum is located on its own little island in the Rheinauhafen (Rheinau Harbour) in the heart of Cologne, and is operated by Schokoladenmuseum Köln GmbH. It received its current name in 2017 after Lindt & Sprüngli joined the original partners in 2006. It was previously known as the Imhoff Chocolate Museum or the Imhoff-Stollwerck Chocolate Museum after its founder, who bought larger and larger German chocolate companies including Stollwerck and Hildebrand.

The museum offers a comprehensive exhibition of the history of cocoa, covering 5,000 years of cultivation, with a diverse collection of historic items, a greenhouse, a chocolate fountain, a collection of porcelain and silver, exhibits from pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and various kinds of historical industrial machinery. Visitors can also watch chocolate being made in the glass-walled production facility and chocolate workshop, and learn about the modern chocolate-making process.

Making your own chocolate bar

Step 1: Melt your chocolate

It is important to use high-quality chocolate when making your own chocolate bars. You can melt the chocolate using a double boiler on the stove or in the microwave. If using a microwave, heat the chocolate at 50% power in 30-60 second increments to avoid overheating. Remove the chocolate from the heat as soon as it is melted and give it a gentle stir.

Step 2: Prepare your moulds

Wipe the condensation off the bottom of the bowl if there is any. No water should get into your chocolate as it will cause the chocolate to seize. Pour the melted chocolate into your moulds and use an offset spatula to level it off.

Step 3: Choose your toppings

There are endless toppings to choose from, including nuts, seeds, dried fruit, pretzels, and candy. You can also add flavour extracts such as peppermint to your chocolate. Be creative and experiment with different combinations.

Step 4: Let the chocolate set

Let the chocolate sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes, then transfer it to the fridge or freezer to finish setting.

Step 5: Wrap your chocolate bars

There are many ways to wrap your chocolate bars, including foil, brown paper, cellophane, or parchment paper. You can also add a simple ribbon or download free holiday tags online to give them an extra touch.

Learning about the cocoa plant

The cocoa plant, or Theobroma cacao, is native to the Amazon rainforest. The cacao tree was first domesticated at least 5,300 years ago by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in South America, before it was introduced in Mesoamerica. The word cacao is likely derived from the word 'kakawa' from the Mixe-Zoquean language, and was also used by the Olmecs, Mayans, and Aztecs. The Aztecs referred to the cacao tree as cacahuacuauhuitl, derived from the Nahuatl words cacahuatl (cacao) and cuauhuitl (tree).

The cocoa tree grows in a limited geographical zone, about 20 degrees north and south of the equator. Today, West Africa produces nearly 81% of the world's crop, with the Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Indonesia being the top three producers. The cocoa tree has a typical lifespan of 100 years, though it is only considered productive for around 60. The tree takes five years to grow and can reach over 50 feet in height, though they are generally pruned to half that size under cultivation. The leaves emerge reddish and turn to a glossy green as they grow up to two feet long. Small pink or white flowers cluster on the tree's trunk or lower branches during spring and summer. Once pollinated, the flowers become ridged pods up to 14 inches long, filled with beans.

Cocoa beans, also known as cocoa or cacao, are the dried and fully fermented seeds of the cacao tree. From these seeds, cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances) and cocoa butter (the fat) can be extracted. The beans are traditionally classified into three main varieties: Forastero, Criollo, and Trinitario. Forastero is the most widely used, accounting for nearly 70% of the world crop. Criollo has traditionally been the most prized variety, though it is less commonly grown. Any hybrid between Criollo and Forastero is known as Trinitario.

To produce 1 kilogram of chocolate, around 300 to 600 cocoa beans are processed. The beans are roasted, cracked, and deshelled, resulting in pieces called nibs. These nibs are ground into a thick paste known as chocolate liquor or cocoa paste. Cocoa powder and cocoa butter can then be separated using a hydraulic press or the Broma process. The liquor is processed into chocolate by adding cocoa butter, sugar, and sometimes vanilla and lecithin. Treating cocoa with an alkali produces Dutch-process cocoa, which has a different flavour profile than untreated cocoa.

Watching chocolate being made

The Chocolate Museum in Cologne takes you on a journey through the 3,000-year cultural history of chocolate, starting with a large model of a cocoa tree. Visitors then pass through a 10-metre-high tropical greenhouse, following the journey of cocoa from its harvest, through the major stock exchanges of the world markets, until it reaches the chocolate factory. The museum also presents the different species of cocoa plants.

On two different floors, visitors can see how chocolate bars, truffles, and hollow chocolate figures are made. You can watch chocolate being made by machine, with every step of the process visible, from processing the cocoa to tempering the chocolate and pouring it into moulds. There is also a glass-walled production facility where visitors can experience how chocolate products are crafted through both mechanised and manual processes.

The museum offers the world's most comprehensive exhibition of the history of cocoa, covering 5,000 years of cultivation. There is a diverse collection of historic items, a walk-through greenhouse, a famous chocolate fountain containing 200kg of chocolate, a collection of 18th and 19th-century porcelain and silver, exhibits from pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and various kinds of historical industrial machinery.

The manufacture of chocolate products in the glass-walled chocolate factory and the chocolate atelier is a sensory experience. Visitors can even book onto praline and chocolate courses to learn how to make their own.

Vintage packaging and advertising

The Chocolate Museum in Cologne showcases vintage packaging and advertising from the early history of chocolate marketing. The museum's exhibition on the cultural history of chocolate includes a look at the early advertising and sales promotion of chocolate, including promotional tools such as enamel signs, posters, and beautiful packaging. The exhibition also features around 30 chocolate vending machines from the late 19th century, which were located in places such as New York train stations, the Zugspitze, and the Champs-Elysées. These machines could be operated just like 100 years ago.

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