Chocolates Pérez factory and museum

What it is

Chocolates Pérez is a family artisan chocolate factory in Villajoyosa, with the motto "master chocolatiers since 1892". It was founded that year by Gaspar Pérez Pérez, although his father was already a chocolate maker, and is run by the fourth generation; the company name is still Herederos de Gaspar Pérez. It maintains artisan processes and holds the Valencian Community Craftsmanship seal and the "Chocolate made in Villajoyosa" mark. It is one of the three chocolate factories still active in the town, which once had more than seventy brands.

The visit

The guided visit explains the origin of chocolate, its nutritional qualities and the artisan production process. You walk through the factory to see how the main raw materials, cocoa, almond and milk, are worked, and the museum, with panels on the history of cocoa and its transformation. It ends in the factory shop.

The website does not publish the price or length of the visit, or conditions for groups: ask when you arrange it.

Hours and how to arrange it

Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 17:00 to 19:00, and on Saturdays from 10:00 to 13:00. The museum follows the same hours; it does not open on Sundays. The visit is arranged by phone with Pepe, on 633 973 481, or with Gaspar, on 666 819 135. For other enquiries, the office answers on 965 890 573 and at [email protected]. It is at Partida Mediases, 1; the website links to Google Maps for directions.

What to buy

In the shop and the online shop there are bars of single-origin dark chocolate (90% Ecuador, 86% Dominican Republic, 82% Peru), a 70% with caramelised cocoa nibs and salt foam, a 70% with extra virgin olive oil, chocolate with almonds, the ChocoNardo, milk chocolate with coffee and absinthe, and drinking chocolate, such as the "Virgen de los Desamparados". They also make nougat and tortas, dragées and baking products, and lines of white chocolate, milk chocolate and no added sugar.

What to combine it with

It is a stop on the chocolate and nougat route, which links the town's factories. If you want to compare, the Valor Chocolate Museum runs 45-minute guided visits with a tasting. To continue, the old town and the colourful houses and Playa Centro are in the centre.