June 4th, 2012 | 
Author: Walking though the old city of Barcelona whilst tasting chocolate, sound good? Added with in-depth chocolate knowledge and Barcelona secrets, we speak to Cristina from Barcelona Chocolate Tours to find out the history on what is surely one of the most delicious ways to spend a few hours in the city!
Company: Barcelona Chocolate Tours & Tastings
Owner: Cristina Garcia Blasco
When was the Barcelona Chocolate Tour cocoa seed planted? I lived in Brazil for 2 months and while there I visited some cocoa plantations and found it very interesting, so on my return to Barcelona I started looking into the specialty chocolate shops right here in Barcelona as we have a very good and historic chocolate industry, an industry which is different to say Belgium, I find Barcelona to be more creative, also there is a very high quality. So after noticing all of this I thought – why not show chocolate from the Mediterranean corner, and the idea was born…
The first chocolate tour hit the old town streets last year, 19th July was our very first tour was with two Australia girls, I was very very nervous, but they were one of my best clients, very funny lovely girls, they had found out about us through an agency here in Barcelona
My favorite comment (lots of laughter) was from a Spanish client – a girl – she commented that while the tour was fine but the best thing in the tour is you. Obviously a very happy client!
Two main reasons why people should do a chocolate tour – somebody told me it’s a unique experience and I agree, you have the chance to taste different and regional flavors and at the same time u have the chance to see Barcelona old town – one of the best things in our city
For me, my favorite chocolate is Trufa from one of our shops we visit, it’s a very old shop from 100 years ago and they do the best, most original and very fresh trufas.
One of the best moments since having the business was last year when we hosted a group of 26 people from the W Hotel, it was a challenge as its impossible to take 26 people into the small shops we visit so we had to divide the groups and make sure the timing worked perfectly. It was great, and everything worked perfectly, finally at the end we put all 26 people in the last shop and it was great to see how happy and excited everyone was especially as they were quiet young yet they had such a great appreciation.
The most challenging aspect of the business has been finding the right partnerships in order to get clients, this is the most difficult, it’s also not a very quick process – it’s all about building relationships and it takes time (and patience)
The most positive attribute to having your own business is you are very independent, how you distribute your work in a day, I am the founder, I am not an employer and you have all kinds of benefits, it’s really nice, of course you must do so many things by yourself, but it’s all worth it and we are looking at a 30% expected increase this year
What are the benefits of coaching?
I came with a very vague idea, so coaching was all benefits and it was very important in my case, I don’t have these kinds of studies so having a professional coach made all the difference
For negotiation I was very bad and I have learnt a lot now all through coaching, in my opinion to have the luxury of a professional coach has been indispensable.
Check out the Barcelona Secrets video to see Barcelona Chocolate Tours in Action
Barcelona Chocolate Tours the sweetest way to discover Barcelona
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