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RTW Trip Day #54: The Siamaya Chocolate Making Workshop in Chiang Mai
- andrewsco3
- Nov 21
- 3 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
21 November 2025
Steps: 7,862
Today we visited Siamaya Chocolate in Chiang Mai and it ended up being one of the best experiences that we have had on this trip - educational, hands on, and we even got to eat the final product!
Learning About the Chocolate Making Process
The workshop starts with a look at how their chocolate is made, beginning with the cacao pods that grow in the forests of northern Thailand.
They walk you through each step from harvesting to fermenting, drying and roasting.
You get to see how the roasted beans are cracked into nibs and slowly transformed into smooth chocolate and you can taste and smell the different stages along the way.
After the demo we did a taste test that compared Siamaya’s bars to several other well known brands. It was really interesting to see the difference side by side.
Their chocolate changes throughout the year because the flavour of the beans shifts with the seasons, especially with temperature and rainfall affecting the fruit.
Apparently, big brands like Cadbury or Hershey strip the natural taste out and then add flavour back in so it’s always identical.
Once we understood the process we got to make our own chocolate bars which the girls absolutely loved.
You can decorate them with all sorts of toppings and of course the girls went straight for the marshmallows.
Afterwards you can try their speciality flavours, which are all made from local Thai ingredients and very different to what you get from most international brands.
Flavours like tom yum, spicy chilli, apple pie and even durian are all available to try, but they also have plain dark or milk chocolate if you prefer something more familiar.
It’s a fun hands on experience and a great stop if you’re in Chiang Mai and want to try something completely different.
Changklan Road Night Market Street
Every night we explore we seem to uncover another corner of this market. As you walk down Changklan Rd there are at least four different street food courts with live music and an endless range of dishes to try. The whole area flows together so it feels like it just keeps going.
Tonight I went for the grilled octopus with a spicy dip, and honestly, I could eat that every day for the rest of my life - it was that good! Evelyn tried a bite too and said it was delicious, but she felt a bit sad for the octopus. It wouldn’t surprise me if she ends up a vegetarian one day, as she really dislikes the idea of eating animals.
Jess in the other hand tucked into her Indian curry. I had to move tables as apparently the smell of my octopus was making her feel sick!
For dessert, we treated the girls to a McDonald’s ice cream. It doesn’t work everywhere, but it’s a handy little travel hack if you’re on a budget - at just 15 Baht for a mini cone, that’s only around 60 cents!
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