Scotland is a country renowned for its passion for food, drink and the odd wee dram! With so many national delicacies to try; think haggis, shortbread, Irn-Bru and even the infamous deep fried mars bar, chocolate probably wouldn’t make your list.
Chocolate shops however have continued to pop up across Scotland over the last ten years, with some of the best on the West Coast. The success of these amazing chocolate shops are slowly starting to change the way we think about the traditional Scottish scran!
Tobermory Handmade Chocolate
Tobermory (or ‘Tobar Mhoire’ in Gaelic, meaning Mary’s Well), is on the north east tip of the Isle of Mull, the second largest in the Inner Hebrides. Made famous by the colourful houses on the childrens TV show Balamory, Tobermory Handmade Chocolate was actually the home of Eadie MacCready and the yellow bus, though the building is now a dark brown; a more fitting colour to represent the choclatey goodness inside!
All of the chocolates are handmade in the shop, using the best ingredients in order to make the best chocolate. At Tobermory Handmade Chocolate you can enjoy a selection of dark, milk and white chocolate or treat yourself to one of their assorted giftboxes. There is also a cafe within the shop where you can indulge in more of the sweet treats they have on offer and try their famous ‘Death by Drinking Chocolate.’
www.tobermorychocolate.co.uk
Oban Chocolate Company
The Oban Chocolate Company have been making artisan-inspired chocolate for over ten years. They’re pretty good at it too; in 2014 travel company GoEuro named them as one of their ‘Top Ten Most Delicious Chocolate Shops in Europe.’ Oban chocolates are all handmade by a team of choclatiers who create new chocolates on an ongoing basis. The shop and cafe are open plan so you are able to see the chocolates being made in the factory via a viewing panel.
Oban Chocolate Company offer truffle selection boxes becasue lets face it, one chocolate is never enough! The selection boxes come in a variety of flavours; from the classic milk chocolate, to an Irn-Bru truffle and even marmite truffles for those feeling a bit more adventurous. Although the majority of chocolate treats produced include truffles and moulded chocolates there are a variety of other chocolate inspired goodies you can get your hands on when you visit. Think cocoa butter soaps, hot chocolate bags, and chocolate dipped honeycomb, YUM.
www.obanchocolate.co.uk
So the next time you visit the west coast of Scotland, after filling up on seafood and whiskey make sure you pop along and top up on some world class Scottish Chocolate! With our day trips and bus tours around Oban and Mull getting your chocolate fix couldn’t be easier!
