Make Your Own Chocolate Bars in Santa Barbara: Choose from 40 toppings

Pour fluid chocolate and design your own bar from scratch

Make your own chocolate bars and custom packaging at Menchaca Chocolates in Santa Barbara, a 90-minute hands-on class where you choose from three craft chocolates, select from 40 toppings, and design a label or wooden box to take home. The chocolate is ethically sourced, organic, and made in small batches. You'll also get a peek at how the factory produces it. Children from age 9 are welcome, and the space is fully wheelchair accessible.

The experience

Menchaca Chocolates sits inside a working micro-batch chocolate factory, so you're not just making chocolate. You're making it where it's actually produced. You'll start with a choice of three craft chocolates: 60% dark, oat milk, or white vegan. Then you pour fluid chocolate into a mold, add from 40 different toppings (nuts, dried fruits, seasonings, salts, candied ginger, blueberries, pretzel sticks), and design whatever pattern you want: symmetrical, a landscape, or even a face. The whole thing takes about 90 minutes, and you leave with your bar wrapped in foil and sealed in a wooden container you've chosen yourself.

The class includes samples of the chocolate, a hot or cold cacao husk tea, and access to an art bar with supplies for your box design. If you want to buy extra pre-packaged chocolate from the shop, you can add that at checkout. The space welcomes groups of all ages from 9 up, and it's fully wheelchair accessible. You're welcome to bring your own bottle and glasses if you'd like.

What’s included

• Your choice of three craft chocolates.
• 40 different toppings to mix into your bar.
• a wooden box or tile to take it home in.
• hot or cold cacao husk tea.
• chocolate samples.
• art supplies to design your own label or packaging.

Before you book

Days and timesFriday and SaturdayDepartures at 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00

Book up toStart time

AgesAdult (18 to 54 years) · Senior (55 and older) · Youth (9 to 17 years) · Under 9: can't be included in the booking

GroupUp to 20

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 4 days ago

Good to know

Wheelchair accessibleAccessible transportPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Menchaca Chocolates

Is this one for you?Book this if you want a hands-on class where you actually make something to take home, rather than just watching a demonstration. The 90-minute format fits a lunch break or an evening out, and it works equally well for a solo visit, a date night, or a family group with kids from 9 up.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (9 to 17 years). Under 9: they can't be included in the booking.

What kind of chocolate can I choose from at Menchaca Chocolates?

You can pick from three options: 60% dark, oat milk, or white vegan craft chocolate. All are ethically sourced, organic, and made in small batches at the factory.

Do I get to take my chocolate home?

Yes. Your finished bar is wrapped in foil and sealed in a wooden container or tile of your choice, so you take it home as soon as the class ends.

What happens if I want to design a custom box or label for my chocolate?

You can design your own box or label at the art bar using supplies provided during the class. It's part of the experience, and your design goes on the wooden container you take home.

Is the chocolate factory tour included, or is that separate?

The factory tour is not a separate booking. You get a peek at the chocolate-making process as part of the class since you're making your bars inside the working factory itself.