Haags Schoko-Laden

Tirol may not boast the right climatic conditions for growing cocoa, but that hasn't stopped expert chocolatier Hansjörg Haag from developing fine chocolate creations in the heart of the Alps. Haag sources his cocoa beans from the world's best plantations and combines them with local ingredients such as milk from Tyrol Grey cows, a robust cattle breed native to this region and known for its excellent milk. Indeed, these cows are such a vital part of the creamy taste characteristic of Haag's chocolate that they even form part of the company logo. Other regional specialties which feature in the many different chocolate flavours on offer include cranberries from the Ötztal Valley, alpine rose honey from the Kaunergrat Nature Park, plums from Stanz and gentian flowers from Galtür, to name just a few.

Soul food for a sweet tooth

Hansjörg Haag's chocolate is also known as "Tiroler Edle", whose translation into English is pretty much a perfect summary of what it is all about: "fine chocolate from Tirol". Such is the popularity of this chocolate that the monks at the Stift Wilten monastery in Innsbruck even commissioned Haag to come up with a series of special liquers filled with Boskoop russet apple schnapps and Williams pear schnapps. Unsurprisingly, this potent combination bears the evocative name "A Taste of Heaven". And who said that monks lived a quiet life! Haag's chocolate is available in a selection of stores throughout the region, including the pharmacy next to the SoWi university building – proof, if any was needed, of chocolate's medicinal benefits.