My wife and I have just spent a very pleasant afternoon doing the "Chocolate Lanes and Arcades" Tour. Amanda was our guide and as other reviewers have mentioned, she is very knowledgeable about chocolate and about the venues that we visited. Also, Fiona who works for the tour company came along to refresh her knowledge about the places visited as she hadn't conducted this tour for a while. Good to see that the tour company is making an effort to keep their guides up to date as I understand that the places visited change from time to time. We were a little lucky that there were only four people on the tour so we got a very "personal" experience. We started with introductions which got everyone comfortable and then visited Haighs near the tour start point in Block Arcade. Detailed explanations about chocolate tasting technique including the opportunity to taste a roasted coffee bean were given. We also received descriptions of the ways that chocolate is manufactured. In all, we visited six establishments and sampled chocolates (of course!), tea, coffee, hot chocolate drinks, cake and even matched wine (at Adelphi). I now know about some very nice places to visit in the City that I had not visited before. Of course there were opportunities to purchase the wares from the various establishments visited and most offered discounts to people participating in the tour. I think you get more out of...My wife and I have just spent a very pleasant afternoon doing the "Chocolate Lanes and Arcades" Tour. Amanda was our guide and as other reviewers have mentioned, she is very knowledgeable about chocolate and about the venues that we visited. Also, Fiona who works for the tour company came along to refresh her knowledge about the places visited as she hadn't conducted this tour for a while. Good to see that the tour company is making an effort to keep their guides up to date as I understand that the places visited change from time to time.
We were a little lucky that there were only four people on the tour so we got a very "personal" experience. We started with introductions which got everyone comfortable and then visited Haighs near the tour start point in Block Arcade. Detailed explanations about chocolate tasting technique including the opportunity to taste a roasted coffee bean were given. We also received descriptions of the ways that chocolate is manufactured.
In all, we visited six establishments and sampled chocolates (of course!), tea, coffee, hot chocolate drinks, cake and even matched wine (at Adelphi). I now know about some very nice places to visit in the City that I had not visited before. Of course there were opportunities to purchase the wares from the various establishments visited and most offered discounts to people participating in the tour.
I think you get more out of this tour if you do it as a couple or with friends. You can try a broader range of the samples available this way. Don't eat beforehand as you end up getting plenty of chocolate and other things on this tour. Water is provided (and recommended) between establishments.
I enjoyed the afternoon and would consider doing one of the other tours offered by this company in the future.More