Sueca’s Chocolate Factory

You probably think of rice when you think of Sueca, located as it is in the middle of the rice paddies to the south of Valencia. But, as we found out on a visit to the museum/factory, rice is a part of the production process, although not as an ingredient.

When we think of chocolate factories, inevitably we think of Charlie Wonka, and so do the staff in Sueca, as posters of the film (the Johnny Depp version) are to be seen on the walls in the section where a lone employee cheerfully rolls out the chocolate bars into their traditional cigar-like shape.

The other image that springs to mind when you visit the museum, located in an elegant townhouse in the centre of the town, is of a torture chamber, where many of the traditional implements used in the manufacturing process could just as easily be adapted and used by the Spanish Inquisition or a similar organisation.

Upstair you can find a section dedicated to all kinds of posters and advertising from the last hundred years.

The Comes family have been involved in chocolate making since before 1870, the first artisan being Pedro Comes Chulia (1858-1940). The current factory at C/ San José 29 was set up by Encarna Comes Matoses and Pedro Melero Pastor in 1966.

Today their children continue to run the factory, museum and shop, producing a wide range of products for luxury eating, and also candles and soap, which smell delicious although eating them is not recommended.

The guided tours explain the history of chocolate making and the processes which produce the different products.

These include stone chocolate with carob, which was very succesful during the post-war, and a variety using tiger nuts. There is also chocolate honey which can be used to melt, spread or mix. 

There are chocolate bars with many flavours, including a spicy variety

Visits and tours are available from Monday to Friday:
10:30 to 13:30
16:00 to 20:00

Saturday:
11:00 to 14:00
17:00 to 20:00

Sundays:
12:00 to 14:00

C/ Sant Josep, 29
46410 Sueca (Valencia)

Phone number: 96 170 19 42

info@chocolatescomes.com