"Incredible fun and super educational"

Norwegian School of the Costa del Sol.

video

Hello there!

Are you looking for a FUN, ORIGINAL, immensly educational and utterly delicious school outing?

At Mayan Monkey Mijas Chocolate Factory, we can offer you a fabulous range of unique chocolate-making workshops for all ages, from kindergarten all the way up to third-level.

We've been hosting school trips since  2013 (our first school was the Ark Christian College from Fuengirola), and have used the pandemic downtime to innovate and improve across all aspects of our operations, with the utmost priority being on adapting to the New Normal via Health & Safety, of course. In conjunction with our partner OT Preventiva, we have developed and implemented "Covid-safe Space & Experience", an exhaustive protocol, which ensures that we go beyond our legal requirements when it comes to ensuring that your school visit is both safe and enjoyable in equal measure!


Our goal for you? To ensure that the outing to Mayan Monkey Mijas Chocolate Factory counts as one of the most fun days of the school year


Drop us a line, and we'll tell you more!

What do other schools say about us?

"...we absolutely loved it, and congratulate you for your efficiency given how late we were in arriving due to the problems with our transport provider. We'll be back! Many thanks & fond greetings" - Mr. Amalio, CEIP Acapulco, Fuengirola

"Everything was great!! Thank you so much. The kids had an amazing time, and we teachers loved it as well ❤" - Ms. Verónica, CEIP María Zambrano, Mijas

"...the most enjoyable school trip we've ever done..." - Ms. Grant, Marbella Montessori School

"One of the most educational and genuinely entertaining school trips of any I've done in my 20 years in the profession" - Mr. Roger, EIC Marbella

Let's Make Chocolate!

From Organic & Ethically Sourced Cacao :)

Try your hand as a Chocolatier in the only Chocolate Factory in Spain to be officially recognised by the NGO  Slavefree Chocolate

Choose from 54 different Ingredients!

Something to suit everyone's tastes :)))

We love to take extra special care of visitors with food allergies/ intolerance and/or dietary restrictions. What do YOU need?

Chocolate Museum Tour

Learn all about the fascinating origins of chocolate

- Where does chocolate come from?
- What do monkeys have to do with chocolate?
- Why is Spain so important in the history of chocolate?

So many questions, so many opportunities for learning :)

Become a Packaging Designer!

Segment for Younger Students

We help our youngest visitors understand the importance of packaging design in the chocolate life-cycle via this hands-on activity in which they get to design and assemble their very own chocolate wrapper.
At workshop's end, they are presented with their unique chocolates also packaged in a unique box: and, it's all been designed by them!

Meanwhile, for teachers this is the perfect time to enjoy a complimentary cup of our delicious freshly roasted, organic coffee ;)

Interactive Q&A

Support for In-School Learning

Are your students working on a particular topic or project at school that you would like us to focus in on?

Chocolate is a fascinating and multifacted subject, and offers so many amazing educational opportunities, from geography, botany and chemistry to ancient civilizations, language acquisition and gastronomy as well as civics, ethics, environmental protection as well as business studies, graphic design & paper engineering.

Let us know what specific benefits you would like your students to obtain from the visit. We'll make it happen!

Access & Recess

via the pedestrianised main square of Mijas Pueblo!

Mayan Monkey Mijas Chocolate Factory is located right on the main square of beautiful Mijas Pueblo. Since this is directly opposite the set-down spot for private coaches, access to the chocolate factory is quick, easy and safe. Once you exit the bus, all you need to do is cross the road and, straight away you'll find yourself in the main square.
All the businesses will be on your right-hand side as you come into the square. We're about halfway along and are easy to spot, since we're the first business with a terrace out front (everything that comes before us is shops). It will take you no more than one minute to walk from your coach's drop-off point to our front door!

The square is both enormous and pedestrianised and, since it's free from motorised traffic, it's a safe space to enjoy the break period after your workshop whilst your chocolates set and we wrap them for you.
There are plenty of benches for everyone to sit and eat their snacks, as well as ample space for games and play-time :)

Unique & Delicious

...and made by YOU!

Packaged in boxes made in our museum - a combination of a 90 year old printing press and a modern digital press.

Follow Up after your Visit

We're right here for you!

If the purpose of your visit to Mayan Monkey Mijas Chocolate Factory is to support a particular area of learning/ specific project work with your class, it is very likely that your students will have further questions after their trip.

We took the background photo at ECOS College, Marbella in March 2021 when we were invited to participate in the INCREDIBLE presentation of the 9th Class students of the results of their "Interdisciplinary Chocolate Research Project", as part of which they came to make & learn about chocolate with us at Mayan Monkey Mijas.

Are there questions that didn't get answered or maybe some new ones which have emerged since your visit? Let us know, and we'll be happy to join a Zoom session with you or to communicate with your students via email ;)

Which visit works best for YOUR class?

Mini Visit  - 50 minutes
9.99€ pp

1. Lets Make Chocolate
2. Museum Tour
3. Packaging/Art Activity

OR

Special Focus Topic to support in-school learning + Interactive Q&A


School Trip

Standard Visit - 50 minutes
11.99€ pp

1. Let's Make Chocolate!
2. Museum Tour
3. Packaging Art Activity
OR
Special Focus Topic to support in-school learning + Interactive Q&A
Chocolate per person:
2x Deco Bar



Older Students

Favorite Visit - 50 minutes
14.99€ pp

1. Let's Make Chocolate!
2. Museum Tour
3. Packaging Art Activity
OR
Special Focus Topic to support in-school learning + Interactive Q&A
Chocolate per person:
3 x Deco Bar


Educational school trip

Deluxe Visit - 90 minutes
24.99€ pp

1. Let's Make Chocolate!
2. Museum Tour
3. Packaging Art Activity
OR
Special Focus Topic to support in-school learning + Interactive Q&A
Chocolate per person:
3 x Deco Bar, 3 x Dipped Fruits, 3 x Filled Bonbons, 3 x Truffles,3 x Painted Figurines and 1 x Hot Choc on a Stick.

School Workshop Schedule

School Workshops are available from Monday - Friday (with the exception of Spanish public holidays) from 9am & 2pm, and the prices offered above are based on this schedule.
If you'd like to attend at another time, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.

What does a trip to Mayan Monkey Mijas consist of?

Immersive Cacao Tasting Tour, Chocolate-Making Workshop & Packaging Design Experience

1. The Perfect Plan!

What are your needs?

In order to ensure that your visit to Mayan Monkey Mijas Chocolate Factory meets the academic needs and also suits the age group/ interests of your students, it will be our pleasure to help you design the perfect trip.


We offer a whole range of standard school workshops and, because our multilingual team has years of experience in hosting students of all levels, nationalities and origins, we can tailor-make a trip just for you.

Let us know when you'd like to visit, and we will find the closest-matching availability.
On the other hand, if what you are looking for is a multi-activity excursion to Mijas Pueblo, just let us know. We work closely with the Tourist Office, tour guides, hiking guides and other activity providers here in the village, which means we can help you to create a dynamic trip with lots of 
stops along the way!

School Workshop Times

We offer School Workshops from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays), from 9am - 2pm.
If you would like to bring your group at a different time, whilst the special school rates may not apply, we will of course do our very best to accommodate you!    

Dietary Restrictions
Please let us know if any of your students have any dietary restrictions, including food allergies or intolerances. We have very strict protocols in place to ensure the safety & enjoyment of all our novice chocolatiers!


Special Needs
Just let us know if any of your students have any special needs or requirements so that we can have everything fully prepared in advance of your arrival.

2. Health & Safety

Safe Space, Safe Visit
 OT Preventiva has been our Health & Safety partner for many years. Since the start of the pandemic, they have been our advisor & guide in relation to navigating the risks associated with covid-19 in the worksplace. With their help, we have developed a series of strict and highly detailed protocols and, when it comes to school trips, we have implemented a number of adaptations to ensure maximum security both for you, your students and our team.

New Safety Measures
- Fully private entrance (for the exclusive use of your group)
- Completely private bathroom for you group.
- During the period of your visit, we separate the shop-café area from the factory-museum area (which is where school activities are held) by closing an interior door. This way, there is no contact whatsoever between your group and the general public.
- Capacity control based on the official restrictions in place during the time of your visit.
- Separation of sub-grupos via movement flow design
- Reduction of touching of shared objects, e.g. ingredient bottles

Capacity Control
Our standard capacity is 60 workshop participants (30 in the factory area/ 30 in the museum area).
The numbers permitted has been subject to fluctuation as one of the measures in place to limit the spread of covid-19 in our activity as well as everywhere else . 
If the numbers in your group is higher than those allowed inside our premises at the time of your visit, we will happily help you in creating a multi-activity visit to Mijas Pueblo in order to create a division within your group, which then allows us all to comply with the regulations.

3. Let's Make Chocolate!

The absolute highlight of the visit to Mayan Monkey Mijas Chocolate Factory is, without doubt, the chocolate-making!

Our chocolate is both organic and ethically sourced, being made primarily with cacao from the Dominican Republic & Peru. Our supply chain is slavery-free: a noteworthy achievement in the chocolate sector and, we are in fact the only chocolate factory in Spain to be recognised by the NGO "Slave Free Chocolate

Depending on the particular visit you choose, your students will learn to make different types of chocolate creations (eg. Deco Bars).

Organic & Ethically Sourced Chocolate
Your students can choose from the following organic chocolates:
- dark choc (70% cacao)
- white choc (30% cacao)
- milk choc (39% cacao)
- VEGAN milk choc (with rice milk)
Note: please let us know in advance how many students would like vegan milk chocolate since this requires a special prep ;)

54 ingredients!
As well as the chocolate, there are 54 ingredients to choose from....
Nuts: eg, almonds, cashews, pistachios
Dried Fruits: eg, coconut, kiwi, strawberry, cherries
Seeds: eg, poppy, pumpkin, linseed, sesame
Spices: eg, aniseed, cloves, ginger, nutmeg
Essential Oils: eg, lemon, orange, bergamot, mint
Chocolate Buttons
Cacao Nibs

Certificate of Honour
And, in recognition of their chocolate-making achievements, at the end of the session, each student will receive a certificate with his or her name on it, marking participation in the workshop. The sense of achievement for students of all ages is immense :)

4.  Museum Tour

An exploration of the fascinating origins of chocolate:
Natural Origins: 
learn all about the geography & botany of cacao at our papier maché cacao grove, where the bright colours of the cacao pods and the spider monkey soft toys playing in the branches will catch & hold your students' attention.
Discover how the world's first cacao farmers are now an endangered species, along with our environmental challenges facing cacao & chocolate.

History of Chocolate
Journey through time, stopping off in the era of  "Xocolatl" (the world's first chocolate), the period of the arrival of the Spanish "conquistadores" to Mesoamerica, and discover the link between ancient MesoAmerican cultures (Olmecs, Toltecs, Mayas & Aztecs) & cacao, as well as the key role of Spain in the history & evolution of chocolate.

Bean-to-Bar Process:
We will explore every step involved in the process of converting cacao into chocolate, from the flowering & fruiting of the cacao tree through harvest time, fermentation & drying to shipping of the beans, ending with the different paths taken to create different chocolate types.

Tasting Session
Your students will have the opportunity to try cacao & chocolate during the different stages it passes through in the chocolate factory.
Note: very young children may prefer to avoid bitter cacao, and try chocolate only instead ;)

Meeting the "Grannies"
The students will have the opportunity to see the antique machinery, eg., a "metate"  cacao grinding stone (this tool was first fashioned in 7000 DC), our French cacao roaster born in 1936, as well as two antique Heidelberg printing presses.

5. Customised Segments

Age-Focused Learning
Our two highly engaging segments ensure students are engrossed regardless of their age!

Young children (3  - 11)
In addition to making chocolate, we also do all our own Graphic Design, Paper Engineering, Die Cutting & Package Assembly. Because we have a lot of knowledge & resources to share, a few years ago, we decided to create a "colouring book" version of our chocolate bark box so that our youngest visitors could express themselves artistically whilst also learning about the role of packaging in the chocolate lifecycle. Each little one creates a unique design package and, it is in this that their chocolates are presented at the end of the visit! 

Older Children ( 12 yrs +)
Older students participate is an interactive Chocolate Q&A Session, allowing them to take a deeper look at the most relevant aspects, e.g.,

Language Learning: chocolate as a tool for in foreign language vocabulary acquisition
History: eg, the role of Spain in the History of Chocolate; the evolution of machinery in Chocolate
Ancient Civilization: ej, chocolate & ancient civilizations (e.g., Olmecs, Toltecs, Mayas, Aztecs...)
Science: eg, chocolate tempering & crystalline structure/ reversible v. irreversible change/ fermentation, roasting & microbiology)
Geography: cacao-growing zones & climates
Botany: the varieties of “theobroma cacao”, their properties & cultivation
Business Studies: e.g. responsible tourism, sustainable business, HR
Environmental Studies: ej., sustainability, the future of chocolate conservation & 
Art: eg. creative chocolate techniques.
Design: eg, graphic design, packaging design
 Food Studies: chocolate & healthy eating, hygiene in the chocolate factory.

6. Break, Chocolate Collection & Other Practicalities

Break-Time
After your workshop ends, your delicious chocolate creations need to set and we then need to wrap them for you. This period is the ideal time to enjoy morning snack/play-time.
Because we're located right on the pedestrianised, large & peaceful main square of Mijas Pueblo, all you need to do is walk out our front door and, straight away you're on the square!

Chocolate Collection
Your chocolate will be ready approximately 30 - 45 minutes after workshop conclusion, depending on the number of participants.

For your convenience, the chocolates will be packaged in separate boxes corresponding to each group of students. Just let us know if you'd like us to package it any other way ;)

If you have planned other activities in Mijas Pueblo, you are very welcome to pick your chocolate up at the end of your visit to the village, ie, as you are making your way to your coach, 

Different schools prefer to collect the chocolate in different ways.  Some schools assign the task to a particular teacher who tends to wait behind whilst everyone else heads to the bus.  If this is your case, we will help you carry the chocolate to your car.....since it will likely be necessary to use a trolley to get it there!
Another option is to gather the students in the square, and for each class teacher to hand out the chocolates there and then.....or indeed to take the chocolates to the bus, and hand them out either on the bus or back at school.
Just let us know, and we will adapt to whatever suits you best! 

Thinking of something else?

Let us create a unique workshop just for you!

Deco Bars (the ones with toppings) are the single most popular item for school trips, however, there are lots of other incredible chocolate combinations that we can teach your students to make: chocolate-dipped fruits, truffles, soft-centre bonbons & bars, hot choc on a stick, donkey lollipops & chocolate dragons....amongst other delights!

Approximately 50% of the school workshops that we host here at Mayan Monkey Mijas are customised to fit in with each school's needs: duration, focus, content, chocolate-making, etc.
If none of the above options quite fits in with what you had in mind, just let us know: we'll be delighted to create a bespoke workshop just for your class :)

Where to find us...right on the main square of beautiful Mijas Pueblo :)

Address:

Mayan Monkey Mijas 
Chocolate Factory & Happiness Lab
Plaza Virgen de la Peña 15
29650 Mijas Pueblo (MA)

Phone/ Whatsapp:

Eli: +34 600 088 542
Jason: +34 629 466 710

Lovely to meet you!

Located on the main square of beautiful Mijas Pueblo, close to both Malaga and Marbella, at award-winning Mayan Monkey Mijas Chocolate Factory, we make craft chocolate using premium cacao sourced ethically from sustainably-run plantations.

The ingredients used in all our products (in addition to chocolate, we also offer a mouthwatering range of gourmet handmade ice creams, baked wares, healthy sweets & cacao-based cosmetics) are 100 % natural (organic, where possible!), with zero artificial flavourings and colourings. Mayan Monkey Mijas is a palm-oil free company, and is the only chocolate factory in Spain to be officially recognised by the NGO  "Slavefree Chocolate".

 We understand happiness to be a circle that includes absolutely everyone in the cacao supply chain, from the farmers who look after the trees all the way to the person who enjoys the finished product, be it a chocolate bar, a soft-centre bonbon, hot chocolate or even a mouth-watering chocolate ice cream. This circular vision is of enormous relevance in the cacao sector, since the vast majority of the world's cacao comes from the Ivory Coast where the problem of exploitative working conditions is unfortunately a long-established norm, with child slave labour being the worst expression of this problem. The fact that children as young as four years of age are trafficked from neighbouring countries and forced to work on cacao plantations seven days a week for up to 12 hours a day in the most harrowing conditions is intrinsically linked to the consumer market's obsession with "cheap". The unavoidable truth, however, is that what for some is "cheap" for others is far too expensive.

In the long term, the only way to make a change in this reality is through eduction and conscious consumption, be it of raw materials (ie, what we buy) or finished products. We hope you will join our mission.

Find HAPPY Share HAPPY

Eva Violet


Gracious, caring, talented and the widest smile!

Eva joined Mayan Monkey Mijas in 2014, which means she's been part of the team almost from the get-go!

From the north of Italy, Eva not only has an ample background in gastronomy, she also has a huge heart, big smile and oodles of charisma. She makes the finest coffee and cocktails, and everything she serves comes with a free side of witty Italian charm and warmth!

Eva is both discreet and unassuming and, precisely for this reason, she never fails to surprise us! The most recent example of this was the unfolding of her immense talent at lettering in an amazing upcycling collaboration between herself and Sam. Come on in to see it! 

In this photo from 2014, we see Eva's maternal side shine through as she "feeds" one of our first Oolal soft-toy prototypes a bottle of (gourmet chocolate) milk. But, of course!

Eva's Fave Products:

- Pistachio ice cream
- Chocolates: "Cádiz 1544"/ Sweet Nature" /"Jetsetter" /"Venezuela 54% Dark Milk"

Samuel Coley

This guy's our 4x4!

Sam has been part of the team since 2015 and truth be told, there are very few tasks that he's not carried out in that time! Perhaps he still needs to learn the details of ice cream making, however, as far as everything else is concerned, at the very minimum, he knows a lot! 
Born in the UK and raised in Mijas, Sam can just as easily be found hosting your chocolate-making workshop or giving you a tour of our museum, as well as setting  up your ice cream sundae or cocktail.
His previous experience in printing means he brings a wealth of knowledge, and is so talented that he's even developed packaging prototypes, and also does a lot of our packaging die cutting.  And, everything he does will be with a smile and the sincere desire to ensure you're happy!

In this photo from December 2020, we can see that Sam is having a thoroughly horrid time on the "Christmas Creatures" training session. Someone has to do it, right?! 

Sam's Fave Products:
- Passion fruit ice cream
- "Sweet Nature" (milk choc bark with mint & cinnamon)

Jessica Alvarez


Our Head Chocolatier


As sweet as the famous dulce de leche of her homeland, Jessi from Argentina is our Head Chcoolatier, and has part of the team since 2016

A professionally trained pastry chef with experience in both Argentina as well as Spain, not only is Jessi an absolute machine when it comes to making chocolate (you have never seen anyone make chocolate quite as fast!), she also loves to innovate both in terms of actual product creation as well as the novel application of both ingredients and techniques for products and workshops.

And, everyone just loves Jessi. She has an abundance of positive energy and she loves to share her passion for good chocolate with everyone who takes workshops with her.

In this photo from April 2021, Jessi is finishing a production run of marbled chocolate bark and about to start filling Easter Eggs. This woman never stops!

Jessi's Fave Products:
- Cheesecake ice cream
- Salted Almonds Milk Choc Bark, Praline & Walnuts Milk Choc Bark

Marta Pressler


Our Ice Cream Wizard

From Katowice in Poland, Marta has been part of the team at Mayan Monkey Mijas since 2017. She is a genuine ice cream making legend, having sole responsibility for the production of the ice cream needed in both our shops!

Anyone who's tried a Mayan Monkey Mijas ice cream can taste the difference, and that difference amounts to LOTS of work! Every single component is made from scratch from 100% natural ingredients, most of which are organic. All the biscuits, sauces, mousses, jams etc. are all made by hand. Even the nut butters and pralines are made by roasting & then grinding the nuts to ensure maximum freshness & flavour intensity. And, once you try them, oh boy can you tell the difference!

When not creating ice cream, Marta gives workshops & tours and takes care of packaging, in the chocolate factory

In this photo, Marta has just tried fresh cacao for the first time ever. Her look says it all!

Marta's Fave Products
- Salted Peanut ice cream
- Lime & Coconut White Chocolate



Jason Godwin

Megabytes to Megabites :)

Jason is from the Glossop in the UK, but has been living on the Costa del Sol since first arriving in Mijas in 1992!

An entrepreneur from a very early age, he started off successfully designing and selling his own videogames at 11 years of age, and he's never stopped learning & innovating since then, setting up Mayan Monkey Mijas in partnership with Eli in 2012. 

Full of enthusiasm (especially when it comes to technology, be it analogue or digital), if you run into Jason at Mayan Monkey Mijas, he will probably whisk you off on an impromtu tour of the chocolate museum, and show you some very cool features of the antique machines that give the space its insider's name ("The Grannies' Club").

In this photo from 2017, Jason has just die-cut the very first packages with "Heidi", our gorgeous antique Heidelberg printing press.

Jason's Fave Products
- Vanilla ice cream
- Passionfruit Caramel Bonbons & any of our filled milk chocolate bars, eg, nougat :)

Eli McCarthy


I am my own Happiness Lab

Originally from Clonakilty (Ireland), co-founder Eli is the creator of the vast majority of Mayan Monkey Mijas product recipes, with a relentless focus on both gastronomic & ethical quality. Inclusiveness is of huge importance, in order to ensure that those with dietary restrictions (e.g. food allergies & intolerances) can enjoy the products as well as being able to guarantee a fair deal for everyone on the supply chain. 

Eli speaks 7 languages and LOVES to connect with others. When you contact Mayan Monkey Mijas to book a workshop or enquire about opening hours, Eli is that "friendly voice" on the other side of the phone, email, etc.
She's also very often Mayan Monkey Mijas' spokesperson, with a mission to raise awareness of the need for conscious consumption

In this photo, Eli can is seen being interviewed by Argentinean TV in August 2020.

Eli's Fave Products
- Pistachio ice cream
- Chocolates: there is a favourite for every day of the year, for every mood, etc!
- Our freshly roasted organic coffee ("give me that caffeine!")

Oolal


Our Little Cacao Farmer

The word "monkey" in our name (Mayan MONKEY Mijas) finds its origins in the Mesoamerican jungle to which cacao is native. Spider Monkeys are the original discoverers of cacao, and for almost 4000 years, they have played a key role in cacao's lifecycle since they're the ones responsible for seed dispersal...making them the original cacao famers!
Eli designed Oolal (a word from the Mayan language which translates into English as "happiness") to be a scale model of a three-month old
Spider Monkey baby.

Made in Totana (Murcia province) by one of the handful of soft toy manufacturers left today in Spain, “Oolal” is both locally & ethically sourced, and comes with a maximum quality & safety CE guarantee which other toys simply don't offer.

In this photo, we see Oolal taking a breather whilst out  delivering chocolates during Spanish lockdown in March 2020.

Oolal's Fave Products
- Organic cacao nibs (of course!)
- "Oolal, A Bird and a Boy/Girl called....." (the customised story book in which she is co-star)

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