An Evening at the Ooty Chocolate & Tea Factory
The title An Evening at the Ooty Chocolate & Tea Factory says it all as I have never known anyone who hates chocolate. So spending an evening at where it’s made is like a dream come true. And tea has some old memories of me in Assam with everywhere you go you get these tea gardens. But I never got a chance to actually see how the tea leaves are plucked and processed into our daily cup. The tea factory is located just 5kms from Doddabetta Peak.
High Hill Tea Shop
On the way we stopped at the High Hill Tea Shop where you can try different varieties of tea. And also try some snacks like the masala potato cutlet which was really great. The tea you get here is grown in their gardens above the shop. You can also explore their gardens by paying a small fee and click some pictures for your memories. But it closes early as they told us that they leave their hunting dogs out in the evening. But we had a doubt that why would you need dogs to guard your tea garden may be a trick on not allowing public when no workers are there.
The Tea and Chocolate Factory and Museum
After our tea break, we headed directly to the factory as the sunset warned us that it will close. As you enter the factory you see the chocolate department with ladies preparing chocolates and the aroma feels so lovely. Some white chocolate is placed in the showcase which you cannot try, but as you move in. A lady distributes everyone a fresh scoop of chocolate directly from the machine it is prepared in.
On the second floor, they showcase 14 types of chocolates which you can buy but no more samples here. Moving ahead, you reach the next floor, which has the tea processing unit. This is where the different types of tea are prepared. Big machines, processing and packing the tea for the people to take home. There are monitors and banners displaying about the different varieties of tea they make. And also a banner explained about the origin of tea in the ancient times. You get samples of fresh tea prepared their which was really refreshing.
The Top Floor
The most exciting part of it was when we headed to the next floor to exit the place. And we saw the whole valley and the beautiful curvy roads on the side. Not a sunset point, but as you can see in the pictures how the beautiful valley of Ooty looked. We waited for the sunset and then headed back to our Homestay.
On our way back we went to the tea showroom inside the factory where you can buy the different varieties of tea. The different teas you get there include green, black, Oolong and white tea. We took one pack of Oolong and Green for a very nominal price.
Not a tourism spot, but people come here to see the place so you should definitely have a visit here and trust me the sunset there is lovely. So don’t miss it.
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