Lindt Home of Chocolate: Origins of Swiss Chocolate
- Lexi Carson
- Jul 31, 2023
- 4 min read
When in Switzerland… eat chocolate!
Zürich, Switzerland is where Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate originated. It is among the best tasting chocolate in the world. Switzerland is home to premiere chocolatiers where they specialize in creating every flavor of chocolate imaginable. Other than that, Switzerland has the world's largest chocolate museum. Lindt Home of Chocolate includes the biggest chocolate shop, stretching 500 square meters, and a huge chocolate foundation. Outside of trying fondue when coming to Zürich, a trip to the Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate factory is a must.
History of Lindt & Sprüngli
Lindt and Sprungli are the creators of Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate. Starting in 1845, David Sprüngli-Schwartz and his son Rudolf Sprüngli-Ammann had an idea to become the first producers of chocolate in a solid form in the German-speaking area in Switzerland. It began with a small factory of only 10 employed workers.
In 1879, Rodolphe Lindt the son of a master confectioner and pharmacist bought two fire-damaged factories and a few outdated machines, with this equipment they got to work. Lindt invented the “conche,” which was the first machine to melt chocolate. At the time, chocolate was only known to have a rough and bitter exterior. However, with the conche machine, it made the texture soft and creamy, like the melted taste we know today. This invention made Lindt the first person to ever taste melted chocolate.
Up until the nineteenth century, the chocolate factory kept growing. The company is divided between Lindt and Sprüngli but it’s expanding as it moves from Horgen to Werdmühle. In 1899, Lindt & Sprüngli finally merged. Johann Rudolf Sprüngli-Schifferli acquires Rodolphe Lindt’s chocolate factory by buying it for 1.5 million francs, which is equivalent to 100 million today. Now the name Lindt & Sprüngli exists.
However, they will face more hardships on their road to success. The first two decades of the twentieth century was all about expanding. The company exported a large amount of outputs into twenty different nations around the world. Three of those places being New York, Berlin and England. But global protectionism and the depressions in the 1920s and 1930s led to losses in those foreign markets. With a plan to reorganize the company, the chocolate bars Lindt Cream and Lindt Milk were created. This was a huge moment for Lindt & Sprüngli because only dark chocolate was used before this.
After the Second World War licensing agreements were made and sales were at an all-time high. During the years 1949 to 1967 the Lindor bar was created. Also, the Lindt Gold Bunny and Lindor truffles. These products remain some of the most popular items to this day.
How the Chocolate is Made
The secret behind how Lindt’s chocolate is made is its cocoa. The finest cocoa beans in the world are exported from the world’s most exclusive regions including Ghana, Peru, Ecuador, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea and the Dominican Republic.
The recipe follows a low melting point. This allows the chocolate in the middle, such as when eating a Lindt truffle, to melt in the mouth.
Siva Valentin is a chef in the gift shop of the Lindt Home of Chocolate. She bakes custom specialities that guests request. She has worked in the baking industry for twenty-one years, specifically in making chocolate.
“I’ve made chocolate for most of my life. I love the art of making chocolate. I find it to be very romantic,” she said. “I make dozens of orders a day here so that always keeps things exciting.”
Valentin said she would recommend trying the classic milk chocolate flavor when traveling to the Lindt Home of Chocolate. “It’s what we're known for,” She said. “You can’t go wrong with plain milk chocolate.”
Inside the Chocolate Factory
Upon entering the Lindt Home of Chocolate museum an audio service explaining the history of its creation will be available.
However, when entering the factory, the first thing that draws the eye's attention is a whisk statue that is almost as tall as the ceiling. The whisk is covered in milk chocolate with a gold plate underneath reading “Lindt Home of Chocolate.” This is a go-to picture spot to capture your memory of visiting. Surrounding the factory are all white walls, minimal windows and a second floor hovering high above.
Ulli Zotter traveled from Haiti to Switzerland with his mom. He said they love chocolate and coming to the Lindt Home of Chocolate factory was on the top of their to-do list for their trip to Zürich.
“I’ve never seen anything like this place before. The atmosphere, the huge white walls, chocolate tasting, I really like it,” he said. “It’s funny because this place kind of reminds me of that Charlie and the Chocolate factory movie with Johnny Depp.” Zotter refers to the 2005 remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Near the end of the tour in the museum is the famous chocolate tasting. Guests can try as much chocolate as they would like from three machines of hot, melted chocolate including the flavors: milk, dark and white chocolate. The best part of this, is that the chocolate is unlimited. There are three different chocolate tasting sections throughout the museum but this one tends to be the most popular among travelers.
Other sections inside the tour include a long and thorough look into cocoa production. There are several video displays showing how cocoa is imported from other countries and made into chocolate. There is a crash course of the history of Lindt & Sprüngli and faux machines. In the last room of the tour, it's a dark room with world maps lit up showing where chocolate companies are in the world.
After the tour finishes don’t forget to stop by the large gift shop. Available for purchase is every flavor of Lindt chocolate to exist. When exiting the museum there is a cafė that includes authentic Lindt chocolate dishes, fresh to order and dine in.
A trip to Switzerland is not complete without stopping by Lindt Home of Chocolate.
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