Wednesday, July 20 update, Part 2: Omnom Chocolate

First, before we get any further, let’s just admit that Omnom Chocolate is a great name for a company. Go ahead and say it out loud. Omnom.

Omnom was founded in 2013, and had a small operation making chocolate bars. But just a few months ago, they moved to a much larger location by the harbor. That larger space allows them to offer tours.

This really a tasting tour; by the time you’ve sampled all of the types of chocolate they’ve prepared, the tour almost seems like an afterthought. Here’s where you’ll start:

Onmon prides itself on being the only company in Iceland making chocolate starting with cocoa beans. And that’s where the tour begins: That’s the fruit of a cacao tree on the far left; the seeds inside are the cocoa beans used to make chocolate. Here’s a better view:

You’ll get to taste pure roasted cocoa beans, or cocoa nibs. Then, you’ll try some mashed up with sugar added, as well as a cacao tea, made from the husks of the beans.

Next come the different varieties of chocolate bars that Omnom produces; see if you can taste the difference between beans from Tanzania and beans from Madagascar.

The tasting was tasty, of course, but also educational. It was nice to see the process of turning the fruit on the far left into the mashed chocolate on the right– and the chocolate bars behind.

We left the tasting room behind see how the chocolate bars get made. But first, we donned hairnets and shoe covers to check out the factory floor.

It’s new and bright, and everyone seems very happy. Clearly, the folks at Omnom love having their big new factory. And they can make a lot more chocolate here:

But we couldn’t go more than a couple of feet into the factory without sampling more chocolate!

In the middle is what’s left of a Christmas season white chocolate bar, with caramel and malt. It was delicious. The kids also loved the chocolate covered almonds on the left, which I don’t think are for sale yet. On the right is a licorice candy; I think they have a crunchy corn center? Icelanders love their licorice, but most of us weren’t big fans of that one.

You’ll see mixing machines churning away; until recently this was done by hand!

Finally, as the tour ends, you end up in the store– of course! There’s a little more to taste there, and then you can purchase any or all of the chocolate bars you liked.

Neither the chocolate bars nor the tour are cheap. The tour costs 3000 krona for adults, or just under $25. Kids 7-15 are 1500 krona, and kids under 7 are free. So a family of 2 adults and 2 kids over 7 would cost $74. I think if Omnom decided to offer a family price that was a little less expensive, this would be a clear choice to include on your Reykjavik tour agenda.

But even as it stands now, the tour can be worthwhile and a memorable experience. You’ll learn something about how chocolate is made, and you’ll get to see a brand new chocolate making facility. And, of course, you’ll get to try chocolate in many, many forms.

The bars cost 1200 krona each, or 4 for 3600. So that’s just under $7.50 a bar if you buy 4. The kids’ favorite was the milk chocolate with almonds and sea salt; the sea salt is from Iceland’s own Saltverk! If the tour isn’t for you, you could also just head to the store, buy some chocolate, and peek into the factory through the windows.

The factory is at the very end of Grandi Harbor, which is apparently an up and coming food district. Omnom is also only a 5 minute walk from the Whales of Iceland museum; here’s our information about Whales of Iceland.

Thanks for looking at our live updates. For help with planning your Iceland vacation, check out our main page: www.icelandwithkids.com. Or see other live updates here. Thanks for reading!