Back in July, I hopped on a plane and flew across the country (literally) to Hershey, Pennsylvania for a quick blogger trip with The Hershey Company I got to visit the “Sweetest Place on Earth”, this chocolate lover’s dream 🙂 I was seven months pregnant, it was a whirlwind of a trip packed into just over 24 hours, but so educational and fun.
I love meeting new bloggers, making new friends and connecting with old ones, it’s probably the best part of my job!
The bloggers that attended were Vanessa of De Su Mama, Kath from Kath Eats Real Food, Katrina from In Katrina’s Kitchen, Angie from Little Inspiration, Richard from Single Dad and Cook Like a Dad, Annalise from Completely Delicious, Cara from Big Girls Small Kitchen, and Jeanette from Jeanette’s Healthy Living.
The first night there we enjoyed a nice dinner followed by chocolate liqueur tasting in the Chocolate Lab. We learned all about different sources for cocoa beans and the different flavors they produce. Just look at that giant cocoa bean.
One of the most interesting parts of the trip was learning about the history of Hershey, its founder Milton Hershey, and the legacy he’s left behind.
Day two was all about creating chocolate, creating caramel, and even more taste testing.
We got to have a live Q&A with several of the experts who work at Hershey, discussing the quality of ingredients Hershey products are made with, how they are sourced, cocoa projects, sustainability initiatives, how Hershey is meeting special dietary needs, innovations, and manufacturing. I’ll be touching more on some of these topics in future posts (but don’t worry, all include delicious chocolate recipes too!)
The last thing we got to do before heading home was visit Hershey’s Chocolate World Attraction. This is where I spent my life fortune on chocolate. Just kidding. But I bought lots of chocolate, treats and toys for the fam! Hershey really is the sweetest place on earth and this place was swarming with kids and families. It was such a great ending to the trip!
This trip was sponsored by The Hershey Company! All opinions are my own.
I am from Hershey, I grew up in Hershey……so glad you had a wonderful time visiting my home town…it was a wonderful place to grow up in, when the original factory was still in use, you could smell the choc. on hot humid days, or cloudy rainy days….way back when it was a very charming magical little town, but all that has changed in the past couple of years….glad you had a fun wonderful time…:)