Harper Macaw Chocolate Factory
The Harper Macaw Chocolate Factory offers tours and tastings in Northeast DC
The Harper Macaw Chocolate Factory produces craft chocolate in a variety of unique flavors that make their chocolate bars a great local gift. All of their chocolate is sourced from Brazil and a portion of each sale goes towards protecting the Brazilian rainforest. Before beginning the tour, all visitors don hairnets and watch an introductory video.
The Harper Macaw Chocolate Factory will likely not be actively making chocolate during your visit, to the disappointment of Willy Wonka fans. The tour guide leads visitors through the chocolate making process by showing you the machines used and describing what each one does. Cocoa beans are taken from storage to be cleaned and roasted. Then the cacao is ground, tempered, and poured into molds. While you use your imagination to picture the chocolate being made, the smell of chocolate wafts throughout the factory.
Harper Macaw is named for two endangered birds that live in the rainforests of Brazil – the harpy eagle and hyacinth macaw. The packaging on their Rainforest Origin series of chocolate bars features other endangered animals like the golden-headed lion tamarin and poison dart frog. Their chocolate bars are often as unique as the packaging. In addition to chocolate with various cacao percentages, flavors include chocolate with Earl Grey tea, berries, coffee, Bordeaux, bourbon, mint, and even pop rocks. Some of their specialty bars are only available in small batches or on a seasonal basis.
The tour of the Harper Macaw Chocolate Factory ends with a chocolate tasting. Like wine, chocolate tasting involves several steps to fully appreciate its makeup. Visitors will smell and listen to each sample before letting it slowly melt on your tongue. A generous portion of each sample is provided for the tasting, and the tour guide on my visit brought out some extra samples of the current seasonal flavor.
In addition to going on a tour, visitors to the Harper Macaw Chocolate Factory can purchase hot chocolate, coffee, and dessert in the small cafe. Tour groups are small, so it is recommended that you reserve your spot in advance on their website. Although the tour is a bit dry, adventurers will learn a lot about how chocolate is made and get to eat a lot of fancy craft chocolate.
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Address
3160 Bladensburg Rd NE
Metro Station
- Rhode Island Ave-Brentwood (RD)
- Brookland-CUA (RD)
Directions
Take the 86 bus from the Rhode Island metro station or the H6 from the Brookland station. The Harper Macaw Chocolate Factory is located in the Bladensburg Business Center. The entrance is down an alley between Goodyear and a hair salon.
Cost
$10.00
Hours
Tours on Saturday at 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm
Length of Adventure
1 hour
