I suppose some part of me hoped for oompa loompas, a chocolate waterfall, and a ride in the Wonkavator. But when we arrived at the Amano chocolate factory, it was entirely different—and in some ways far superior—from what I had expected. We arrived, tumbled out of the Suburban, and stood in the cold for a moment. While we were there in the parking lot, I noticed a sprinkling of something on the ground. I looked closer and realized they were cocoa beans. I was somehow surprised to see cocoa beans at a chocolate factory, particularly in Orem. Cocoa beans seemed like moon dust to me, something that exists but that I would never see. A moment later, a young man stepped out and hurried us into the building.
Amano chocolates is an Orem, Utah-based company that started in 1996 and that specializes in gourmet chocolate (“amano” means “handmade” in Spanish and “made with love” in Italian). They have been increasing in popularity as of late—various chocolate bars won five awards at the London Academy of Chocolate Awards and a slew of awards from the Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon. The fellow who gave us a tour was very interesting indeed—by no means the highbrow, snobbish type one would expect at a gourmet chocolate factory, he seemed almost more like a typical hardworking farm boy. He promised us that no corners are cut during the creation of the chocolate, and we saw plenty of affirmations that this is true. He led us, for instance, into the first room: there were several enormous, anachronistic-looking machines. The entire room was coated in a layer of brown dust, and he told us that the machines were vintage, all from the 1920’s and 1940’s. When asked why, he said—and keep in mind, I never thought I’d hear this phrase in real life “They just don’t make them like they used to”. He then explained the more common process of chocolate making, which involves only one machine and was far less labor-intensive, but also ignored many vital details. As we observed the very complex process of converting cocoa beans into chocolate, I wondered if it was unnecessarily complex—it’s chocolate, I thought, that’s pretty hard to mess up. However, after a sampling (and a very close call to a swoon) I was sold.
Amano Anyone?
by Evan Calveri, 7th Grade
If you love Hershey’s, you’ll hate Amano chocolate. Do you know why Amano chocolate is so much better then Hershey’s? I can explain in one word: “originality.” This amazing place is in Orem, Utah. The price is 7-10 dollars per bar, but it’s totally worth it. My class Writers of Walden went to Amano onWednesday January 20th. It’s the best place in the world. Their chocolate is made of ingredients from all around the world. Imagine walking into a room with smells from all around the world. The smell was so good I felt like fainting.
You’re missing out on a lot if you don’t have this brilliant, amazing, almost overwhelming experience. You can either go to the factory or the BYU bookstore. Either it’s just me or the BYU bookstore is a lot smarter than most stores to have this chocolate. We went back to the factory a week later just to remember what it tasted like and to buy some new bars.
The thing about their chocolate is that they don’t use a certain machine which has two metal grinding wheels that grind the cocoa beans which makes metal shards in your chocolate candy bar like other chocolate companies. Art Pollard is the founder of this wonderful factory traveling the world to find the best chocolate ever and finding the best ingredients. It’s everybody’s dream. If you want something with nuts, or caramel, don’t come here because it’s all pure chocolate.
Don’t be scared to check this place out!
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