Visiting the Dove Chocolate Factory

Who loves chocolate? Last month, Dove invited me and small group of bloggers to tour the inside of their Chocolate factory in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania to learn more about their brand, meet their resident chocolate expert & chocolatier for a tasting, and get an inside peek at a real live working chocolate factory.

Look at these chocolates we saw racing across the assembly line. So cool.

Upon arrival, even before walking in the doors of the factory, you could smell the chocolate in the air. It was like breathing fresh baked brownies!

We also participated in a chocolate tasting after our factory tour, led by Chocolatier Ed Sanguine who works at Dove. Ed is passionate about chocolate and explained it’s all about the EXPERIENCE vs. speedy consumption. Luckily, I think with my dark chocolate obsession that’s how I’ve already been savoring my chocolate. This was certainly one of my favorite parts of the day. Yum!!!!!!!

Here’s what I learned……..

Steps to ENJOY and SAVOR your chocolate experience:

1. Slowly unwrap the chocolate

2. Smell the chocolate. Enjoy the aroma and let it bring back memories. Chocolate is a powerful tool that will ignite your emotions and your memories. Revel in it.

3. Hold the bite size chocolate in your hand. Look at it. Feel it. Think about the chocolate journey you are about to begin.

4. Bite it. Taste it. Move the chocolate from side to side in your mouth. Feel the texture and taste the flavors and let this ignite those emotions. Divine right?

5. Eat it slowly in many bites to take the journey. In this case 1 Dove chocolate promise is all you really need!

Now for our tour……..

Safety was really important so we were styling in safety goggles, hair nets, and had to remove all jewelry.

Here’s my buddy Amy and I rocking our goggles!

I definitely get to do some cool things as part of my job as a social media mom and blogger and touring inside Dove’s factory ranks high on my list of experiences I’d never have imagined to be part of my job.

I am obsessed with Dark Chocolate and there is no smell I like better in the world. Walking this factory was heaven to my senses.The factory runs 24 hours per day, all day, every day. Incredible! It was IMMACULATE too.The cleanest floors ever and there is no cross contamination with nuts or anything else as only chocolate is made here too to insure there is no cross contamination for those with allergies.

We saw bars being made along with the Dove Chocolate Promises. They even let me sneak my very own Dark Chocolate promise hot off the assembly line. Talk about FRESH. It tasted divine! Everything goes right into bags or wrapped bars after it is made and then immediately into boxes to be shipped. Talk about efficient.

 Here is the group of us checking out all the Dove magic on the plant floor.

After our tour, we had a chocolate inspired lunch – Chicken with BBQ sauce made with Dove. Another divine chocolate inspiration! Then, for dessert we were led on a feast of our senses with a chocolate tasting by Dove’s in house chocolate expert and chocolatier, Ed Sequine. We also sampled Dove’s new product.

The brand new Dove mint & dark chocolate swirl Promises

Yummy yummy! These are now in store and the perfect combination of two of my favorites flavors – mint and dark chocolate! You definitely need to grab a bag – and the individual bite size of a Dove promise is perfect to satisfy my cravings.