Lake Champlain Chocolates – Factory

Worth checking out if in the area. If you come between 11 and 4, you get to try samples for free. There is a piece of paper that defines the tastes, and you get to guess which chocolate is which. There were also truffle samples around the store for snacking as well. I definitely had a couple of those. Next, I tried the hot chocolate. I got the Tanzania dark hot chocolate. While it was in fact dark 75% (which I like), it had a bit of an unpleasant bite to it. I felt that way about most of their chocolates. It didn’t have a smooth happiness to it that other beans I’ve had offer. It’s not something I would buy in stores, but it was definitely worth popping in since we were in the area. Also — the prices are more than they are at whole foods. That was annoying.

It was ok. Came to Vermont with boyfriend for business. Good wait to spend time while waiting for him to get out of meetings.

I would give this place an extra star because they had a free chocolate tasting with the quiz. I never realized how bad my palate is! I like how they have second chance chocolates where if there’s a little defect they can still sell chocolate at a fraction of the price. Get a truffle because that is the best thing here!

Cool little store, a little bit too pricey if you ask me, the chocolate was good, but I don’t think it justified the prices.

Tour? Not quite… you sit and watch a movie and an employee shows you some beans and pods. oh ya, you get to taste chocolate chips. Then you look over your shoulder to your right and through the windows you see some chocolate machines. That’s it. Unimpressed with the «tour» although the s shop is cute and chocolate is delish. But so are many other chocolates in my local stores.

Tour guide was knowledgeable, and explained the difference between standard regular chcocolate and their higher end belgian style chocolates. The samples were good, and we bought a few to try. It was certainly a high quality rich chocolate, and an excellent variety to choose from. The «tour» consisted of a short video inside the store, which was a little disappointing, but it was a nice overview of the process.

This is definitely a cute stop if you’re touring around Burlington. It’s a very small store, but they have a tasting night, and tours on certain days. The tasting is interactive, and you get to try chips of different chocolates and take a quiz. They have a discount section of a few types of chocolate, and a variety of other chocolate bars and treats.

I’m pretty much a regular at this point… I stop in at least monthly to browse the Factory Seconds section and stock up on dark chocolate. This place is my number one go-​to for gift shopping because they have something for everyone AND a pretty sweet display of unique greeting cards. My out-​of-​state family and friends are always delighted to receive Lake Champlain Chocolates as gifts, and I’m equally delighted to indulge them for any occasion, big or small. Who doesn’t love a celebratory chocolate? In fact, you can celebrate your visit to this lovely store with a sample or two of whichever treat they currently have out. There are ALWAYS samples!
And these guys also do several «Make Your Own» classes… Obviously, there is make-​your-​own chocolate bar, but I also saw recently a sign for make-​your-​own sorbet. There may be others… Whether you stop in for a class or simply a small treat, you can’t go wrong with anything you choose here.

One of my favorite places to stop while in Burlington. Unique chocolate flavors, but the best part is the area where they sell it at a huge discount. The chocolate is perfectly fine, but has small dents in it, so therefore they’re cheaper.

The tour was amazing. The host was incredibly knowledgable and approachable. The samples were predictably delicious.
The aztec hot chocolate and the blue bandana drinking chocolate both felt delicious and decadent on a drizzly June day. The employees were very helpful and I love the local focus of Lake Champlain.

We did the chocolate sampling, but FYI — you have to sit thru an hour of a PPT lecture before you get to sample. Chocolates are delicious, but it was a bit annoying. And we had this one lady who would not stop asking questions, so the PPT went over an hour.

Never been to the factory tour before but have recommended it to tourists for years. I decided to bring my family for my maiden voyage. I was not impressed. Maybe I was expecting something more like an actual «tour». They show a video and you look through a window from a slightly raised platform. On the plus side the «tour» is free and the chocolate is delicious. Unfortunately for the price I’d rather have a Hershey bar.

Its wonderfully handmade USA chocolates, with tours and open look on to the delectable confection floor. Sure, you can buy these wonderful chocolates at Whole Foods and other fine stores… but nothing like visiting where it all happens.
I don’t know if I showed up on an off day, but I couldn’t give it the 5^th star because of how insensitive and unwelcoming the counter staff where the «buy the pound» chocolates were.

We spent our money elsewhere.
Your staff is rude as hell.

Just went here for something free to do in Burlington this afternoon and it was perfect. Kathleen gave us an excellent tour of the chocolate factory complete with a full chocolate tasting. The workers are nice and friendly as well.
We tried the hot chocolate which was actually reasonably priced compared to the price they sell a whole jar for! Absolutely delicious on this cold afternoon. Not complete without the homemade whipped cream that’s for sure.
You can really tell they put pride into these chocolates! Everything is local!

For the weekend Burlington Visitors, don’t expect to be able to drop in for a tour… unfortunately those are on weekends only.
However, you’ll still get to learn about the process from the signage kicking around, and have a sample or two by the display cases.
I love their caramel filled chocolates and the gift bags are always a hit.
Make sure to visit the section with «seconds» which is still perfectly good chocolate, but is off brand or mis-​packaged. They won’t wrap it as a gift for you, but that’s okay – it won’t last the car ride home anyway.
When you are in the seconds area, be sure to look at what you pick up from the bins. I’ve found milk and dark chocolate mixed about accidentally. I assume its the visitors fault more than the staff, but it’s always good to be mindful of what you purchase.

Pros: Plentiful samples in the display room. Ice cream is so pure a one scoop requires two people to finish. Friendly staff.
Cons: 30 minute tour should have been a 5 minute tour. The tour is a seated lecture, not an interactive walking experience. Difficult to hear the lecture with customers speaking in the display area, which is connected to the tour room.

FREE factory tours on weekdays from 9 – 2, every hour on the hour! Hooray!
The tour was very informative; you sit on an elevated platform overlooking the factory and the guide shows a series of images and points to portions of the factory while intermittantly providing chocolate samples.
The store is great as well (cue more samples). The unique part about this store is that they sell factory seconds for reduced prices. Don’t worry they taste just as good as the factory firsts.
There is also a small counter in the store that sells homemade ice cream. It looked great but I was full of chocolate samples.

Have you ever opened up a cupboard at the in-​laws only to discover a curious trove of gifts, mainly the ones you’ve given them over the last however many years you’ve been ball-​and-​chained to one of their spawn, gathering dust in one sad place?
I have, and it got me thinking, wow, either they must hate me, which is always possible, or I just suck at in-​law gifting. I opted to believe the latter this time — since the former is way too aggravating to even give thought to — then I asked my non-​in-​law loved ones what I might should get my in-​laws the next time!
Foodie gifts were the most commonly given recommendations, so I took a look around my recipients’ kitchen for the best possible hint. Lo and behold, my in-​laws happened to have several kinds of nearly fully used Lake Champlain products lying around, good indications to me that this Burlington, Vermont-​based chocolate company might be a safe bet to gift from some time in the future. Late at night, after everyone went to sleep, S.O. and I taste tested a few pieces ourselves to make sure that Lake Champlain’s chocolates would make a gift our taste-​buds could vouch for.
CHOCOLATE BUTTER BOMBS! These dark or milk truffles are so incredibly rich and buttery in taste and texture that they sometimes actually threaten to overwhelm their own feature flavors like vanilla malt or hazelnut! Lake Champlains’ are definitely not a bon bon snacker one can just kick back on the sofa over a good movie with. Then again, what is?
From hot chocolate tins, seasonal sculptures, truffle boxes, wedding favors and baking gifts to ribboned snack packs, Lake Champlain has quite the exalted catalogue of artisanal sweets and all-​natural treats for you to browse and to consider sending to your recipients directly from
. You may also find limited varieties for sale at your neighborhood Whole Foods. Either way, no more last minute email certificates, no more defeatist despair! Show off your temporary gifting prowess and give your loved ones an irresistible classic they will crave and enjoy: a big box or basket of goodies from Lake Champlain. Because there is almost nothing quite as luxurious as gobbling down a gourmet bite of 100% American, pure creamery butter, chocolate truffle.

For sanitary reasons the lot of chocolating equipment is behind glass. Even still, you can see everything! The mixing tanks, the enrober, the molding area, and the cooling area. The tour guide we had was great but definitely turned on the sass when a group of old folks towards the back wouldn’t stop chatting and drowning her out.
The schpiel from the guide was about 10 minutes tops. They pass around white chocolate and three grades of milk and dark chocolate for tasting. We also were able to taste a big piece of their holiday dark chocolate with peppermint in it, yum!
The store is kind of small once everyone starts shopping after the tour is over. The chocolate are pricey but so delicious. My faves? The salted milk chocolate caramel and the almond butter bark.