A DIY Wellington Chocolate Tour

This is our adventure, exploring the Wellington region for Chocolate.  
We deputized two of our Kapiti family members, and as 4 Chocolate Gazetters, we visited as many chocolate shops and factories we could find.  Here is our travel notes so you can do your own Wellington Chocolate tour.

To visit everything and do the Wellington Chocolate Factory tour, we think you need 2 days.  Here is how we did ours.

SATURDAY
FIRST STOP: Kapiti Chocolate Factory
5 Lorien Court Raumati Beach
Saturday hours: 10am to 3pm
The shop has its own car park.
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You can also book a Chocolate making demonstration, which also includes a factory tour, tastings, and a talk about the history of chocolate.  This is only available weekdays and have a group size of at least 10 people, 25 maximum.

Kapiti Chocolate factory is owned Sarah and James Abaniel.
The shop offers a range of boxed and bagged choccies as well as individual bonbons, fudges and other chocolate yummies.  You can also subscribe to a monthly chocolate box.

Our Kapiti Chocolate Factory Hoard

SECOND STOP: THE CHOCOLATE STORY
185a Jackson St Petone
Saturday hours: 9.30am to 4pm
Free street parking behind the library or in the Peel carpark on Saturdays
The Chocolate Story is about a 45 minute drive from Kapiti Chocolate Factory

Owned by chocolatier Brett Nicholls.
The Chocolate Story has a range of individual bon bons, gift tins and boxes, stockist for Hogarth a few New Zealand Chocolate makers including Hogarth.  Brett also makes a GORGEOUS hot chocolate.  The hot chocolate is inspired by a French recipe using actual melted chocolate and not cocoa powder.

Our The Chocolate Story Hoard

THIRD STOP:  BARON HASSELHOFFS CHOCOLATE EMPORIUM
464 Adelaide Road
Berhampore
About a 30 minute drive from The Chocolate Story
Free street parking, (we parked around the corner)
Saturday Hours: 9am - 3pm

Baron Hasselhoffs Chocolate Emporium is a small family run chocolate making business.  The shop and chocolate making room is petite and wonderful.  You can smell the chocolate and spices as you enter.  
Chief chocolate maker is Clayton McErlane and we were met by daughter Lily on the day.

Our Baron Hasselhoff's Chocolate Emporium Hoard (also bought an astronaut pin )

* A little inclusion here.  A few weeks after we had done the tour, a new chocolate shop opened up, just a 4 minute drive away from Baron Hasselhoffs.  La Petite have moved into 277 Tinakori Rd Thorndon Wellington.  They sell bon bons, hot chocolate mixes,  and single origin chocolate bars with some exciting and different flavours to try.  We will definitely be ordering from them soon.

NEXT STOP:  WAKEFIELD CAR PARK ON WAKEFIELD ST WELLINGTON CENTRAL
About 15 minute drive from Baron Hasselhoffs, all the rest of the chocolate tour locations, are walking distance from this car park.  You may want to do this on a second day.
​Cost of parking on the weekend is $3 an hour.

KAFFEE EIS
146 Cuba St  Wellington
Saturday Hours: 9am -11pm

This cafe has a selection of gelato, but particularly, an award winning Chocolate Gelato that tastes just like a rich chocolate bar in gelato form.

Also of note in this area is:

Duck Island Ice Cream 168 Cuba St
Wellington Chocolate Factory and Duck Island do collaborations together in chocolate bars and ice cream.  Wellington Chocolate Factory also have their collaboration ice cream available in their own cafe.

Havana Coffee Works 163 Tory St
This is the coffee used in the Wellington Chocolate Factory Coffee Chocolate Bar.

NEXT VISIT: BOHEMEIN FRESH CHOCOLATES 109 FEATHERSTON ST
Saturday hours: 10am - 5pm
Owner is Jiri Havlik.  This shop offers some very unique and interesting flavoured individual bon bon chocolates and truffles, as well as some more traditional flavours.   They also have some gorgeous stiletto chocolate shoes which can be filled with choccies, and some award winning chocolate fish among other chocolate goodies.  They also do a range of hot chocolates.

Our Chocolate Hoard for Day 1 including Bohemein chocolates

WELLINGTON CHOCOLATE FACTORY - 2nd day
5 Eva St, (found between Eva st and Hannahs Laneway). Park at Wakefield car park again.
Weekend Hours:  10am -4pm
We booked into their Chocolatier for a Day tour.  This was on the Sunday 2.30pm - 4.30pm

As well as the tour, the shop offers their chocolate bars, and hot chocolates as well as an onsite cafe.

The Chocolatier for a Day tour teaches you to temper chocolate correctly, and you make and wrap 3 of your own chocolate bars.  The tour also includes a hot chocolate in their cafe and a little talk on cacao beans and the chocolate bean to bar process.

Also around this area, which we ran out of time to visit is Butlers Chocolate Cafe at 172 Lambton Quay.  As well as the cafe, they do sell individual chocolates and chocolate goodies.

That was our Wellington chocolate tour.  It was a fun way to spend a weekend, and it keeps on giving, as now we can start eating our stash bit by bit.  Our tastings of these will be on our review page as they are done.

If you attempt the tour yourself, make sure you let us know your favourites!