Ooty's small, family-run chocolate shops have been a hill-station tradition for decades — here's what makes homemade chocolate different from a factory bar.
Ooty's reputation for chocolate goes back generations. Small, family-run shops along the town's shopping streets have long made chocolate in batches, by hand, rather than on a factory line — a tradition that visitors to the Nilgiris still seek out today.
What "homemade" usually means
Homemade chocolate is typically made in smaller batches than mass-produced chocolate, often with simpler ingredient lists and less processing. The texture and sweetness can vary a little from batch to batch — a sign of a human hand in the process rather than an assembly line.
The cool Nilgiri climate
The Nilgiris' cooler hill-station climate has traditionally suited chocolate-making and storage better than the plains, which is part of why the craft took root here in the first place.
Bringing it home
eGhai's chocolate range is a work in progress — we're bringing together products from makers associated with this tradition. Exact sourcing and ingredient details for each product are listed on its own product page, and we update them as we confirm details with our makers.