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October 2023 by Tee Mapes
Amazing! The toffee bar is to die for! I had no idea these were vegan until looking carefully at the empty box. My mom can’t have any milk and I just bought her one of each to try them out. My college-aged daughter found my stash and sent me a text saying she was obsessed. Her favorites are the toffee and the coffee. The chocolate is so smooth, I am surprised the last reviewer disliked them. I can’t imagine what they tasted like before, but any better and they would be dangerous.
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August 2023 by L W
Took a great factory tour, tasted some amazing chocolate and then purchased multiple products. A huge new fan!
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August 2023 by Sophie M.
Great, chill, informative tour and fun tasting. Amazing Berkeley gem! The chocolate is delicious and varied -- their dark chocolates highlight single and multi origins, and they have decadent (plant) milk chocolates as well. Newer standouts include the Hazel Nuts (reminds you of a more sophisticated and not overly sweet Nutella) and Perfect Matcha (a play on a strawberry matcha latte we didn't think we'd like but ended up loving). Dark Duo is a good mix of fruity and fudgy dark chocolate and a good intro to dark chocolate. They are bean to bar but, more than that, care about their farmers. They are a B Corp and made the switch to plant-based to lower allergens and lower their carbon footprint. Super awesome.
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July 2023 by 天（1S）
Can’t find the entrance. The entrance (if there is one where Google Maps says) doesn’t look like any of the photos here.Enclosed photos of where Google Maps sent us. We circled the block by car and on foot.These 5 stars are for the kind people who work there.
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July 2023 by David L.
I use to love this chocolate, the dark 85% cacao was awesome. After they were acquired by a Japanese company, they came out with some interestingly filled candy bars like the double fudge, which I kind of liked, but I wouldn't eat it all the time. Then I started to see vegan on the packaging. I thought chocolate was always vegan. Vegan has become such a marketing tool, surprised I haven't seen vegan on bottled water, I went to their website recently, packaging has had a make over and everything has a catchy name and they no longer make basic pure chocolate. Well that's what happens when you sell out to a foreign conglomerate. On the search for a new favorite. Ritual Chocolate is looking like a winner, we'll see.
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July 2023 by Rob T.
We were most interested in attending this tour to see a live production of the chocolate making and was disappointed when we were told there was no production and we would be shown the machines. The host was gracious and informative, but the main point for us to come was to see chocolates being produced :( Tour = $15/person = would have been worth it to see the actual chocolates being produced.
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May 2023 by surfer b.
Tasty tasty tasty I thought it was local and almost positive all plant-based I really like the 95% and I think there's a 100% period kind of hard to find but I think Dean's produce and draeger carry... yummmmmmmmmmmmm
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March 2023 by Amy D.
TCHO Chocolate is a premium chocolate manufacturer located in Berkeley, California. I love that TCHO is all Organic and Fair Trade, but my absolute favorite flavor is the Toffee Time, which has bits of vegan toffee, flakes of sea salt and is perfectly caramelly. I came here for an after hours event to celebrate Women's History Month.A real highlight was getting to take a chocolate factory tour, so we geared up with hairnet and robe to learn more about the chocolate-making process. The tour provided a unique opportunity to witness the production from start to finish, and to taste some of the finest chocolates available. It was such a unique experience! Going on their tour was like living out my childhood Willy Wonka Fantasy!
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March 2023 by Sutona S.
Best vegan chocolate ever!!!!! Seriously and tbh I can't believe it's vegan. After every bite I find myself looking at the ingredients lol. The tours are a great time too!!! There's so many random cool facts that you prob don't necessarily need to know but you'll be so happy that you do.10/10 recommend!
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March 2023 by Barbara Bear
Just discovered TCHO and have only tried the Toffee Time so far. It is perfect--creamy with crunchy toffee bits throughout! ? Absolutely love that it's vegan and fair trade; no cows or humans harmed for this milk chocolate and it's so much better for the planet as well! Thanks TCHO, for tantalizing my taste buds!♥️
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March 2023 by I L
I used to be a huge fan of the Mocachino and Toffee bars and I always bought them in bulk! I was very disappointed that they had become vegan bars; they lack smoothness and the robust flavor that milk chocolate offers. The new version is very dry and has a weird grainy texture. There is also a weird artificial taste that I cannot describe. Specifically, i am very disappointed in the Holy Fudge bar. It says it is a “fudgy truffle” with notes of “crisp brownie edges”, so I thought it’s supposed to have a moist gooey soft fudgy -liked center with bits of crispy brownie?!?! Turns out it’s just a piece of dry solid hard chocolate without any layers; I ended up using it as baking chocolates :(
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March 2023 by Екатерина Шкорова
The tour is informative, they show you a decent presentation about their company, but sadly they do not show the actual process of making chocolate. The tour on the factory takes about 15 minutes and you’re just shown the boxes ( their storage) and the machines, most of which are turned off. So, their shift is over and everything is cleaned up :(I wish I had seen the whole process of making the chocolate, at least it was my expectation.Not worth a long drive, but if you are in the area, definitely check it outUPDATE: The website doesn’t provide the information that depending on the time of your appointment you actually might NOT be able to see the production and that tours are different (meaning sometimes people actually see the process of making chocolate as advertised on the website. I assume it happens during their 11am tours, as per the owner’s response). ONLY AFTER you pay for your NON-REFUNDABLE tickets do you get an email that says “elements of production may not be running during your tour”. I wish I had seen this IMPORTANT info on the website or at time of buying tickets. Why state: we’ll take you through the chocolate making process” when it’s not true if people come for 4pm tour :(
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February 2023 by Jen Q.
I was very disappointed how the factory tour came out. #1 no one can enter under the age of 8. #2 tour was a boring 40 min lecture then looking a chocolate making machines with no chocolate in it. Just basically looking at machines. I would given it a 0 star if I could. 2 stars for refunding back my money. Not really upset about the money but my time spent here. Geez. Very disappointing.
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February 2023 by annemarie
Just got back from a tour of their factory. Super interesting and fun!! Be ready to sample a bunch of yummy chocolate. And, they offer a 25% discount if you buy from their store. They even have cooking chocolate, which I haven’t run across in stores.Some people asked where to get TCHO chocolate. Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, Monterey Market and Berkeley Natural Grocery all carry it.One of the cool things is that they are a B Corp, which is hard to obtain. Their employees embody the aspect of humanity and care that goes along with companies who focus on purpose not only profit.Hope people who wrote bad reviews look into TCHO’s mission and cut them some slack. They are an amazing company who make super yummy chocolate!!
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January 2023 by LJ M.
TCHO recently went 100% vegan and they have a factory tour! Make sure you get reservations at least a month in advance, though! My 11-year-old vegan-from-birth son was thrilled to get to try all of the different samples. They even had an incredible seasonal eggnog white chocolate, pumpkin spice chocolate, and toffee "oat milk" chocolate.This is a rare treat for a vegan family; most tours involve some sort of animal cruelty (like come on Jelly Belly Factory- make vegan options already!). There was also a lot of discussion about transparency in practices, what Fair Trade is, and what it means to be a Certified B corporation. Shockingly my son even said his favourite sample were the cacao nibs, instead of the sugary sweet "milk" chocolates.Although the tour was not free like other tours I've been on (15$ per person), you do get a discount on chocolate at the end (you better bet I took advantage). It also comes with a new sturdy chart that my son and I did a little more study on- he's homeschooled so he read the book "The Bitter Side of Sweet" by Tara Sullivan, and we learned a lot about the ethics of chocolate.So... if you live in the Bay Area of CA, check out the TCHO chocolate factory in Berkeley!
