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I never knew that my visit was unexpected. The Teck Guan Cocoa Museum is managed by a private company named Majulah Koko Tawau Sdn. Bhd. at Tanjung Batu Laut. It is a mini museum inside the Teck Guan cocoa factory. When I got there in the morning, the museum was locked (during their opening hour). A bit puzzled, I went to their office nearby to see if I need to buy any ticket to get in.
Their staffs were a bit surprised of my visit. According to them, any visit to the museum is arranged in advance and done in group. Each person will be charged RM10 that includes entrance to the museum, refreshment, a 20-minute video presentation, and a short tour to the cocoa factory. They also got a cocoa village (in Quoin Hill) where you can stay and see the cocoa plantation and seed processing.
They are not quite ready for walk-in visitor like me. Probably knowing that I went all the way there from KK, they were very kind and arranged a tour for me (free). The ground floor is a small showroom that exhibits cocoa fruits, cocoa end products, and some info on cocoa history. I was brought to a room to watch a 20-minute video to learn the origin, history, plantation, manufacturing processes and use of cocoa.
Then a friendly guide took me for a tour in their factory. She briefly explained the processing steps and the function of each machinery. The two primary output of the cocoa are Cocoa Butter and Cocoa Cake (powder). Cocoa Butter is more high quality and cost 3 times more expensive than Cocoa Cake. That’s why white chocolate, with cocoa butter as key ingredient, is more expensive. Nestle (Ovaltine), Milo, M & M Mars are their customers too.
They were curious to know how I found out the information about their museum coz they haven’t released such information to the press or media. I told them that their cocoa museum has been listed in the Sabah Tourism magazine for more than a year already.
Below is the opening hours of the Teck Guan Cocoa Museum:
Mon – Fri: 8AM – 11:30AM, 1:30PM – 4:30 PM
Sat: 8AM – 12PM
Sunday: Closed
To arrange any visit, you can call them at +60-89-775566 ext 2601.
about the tour to cocoa factory,i would like to know is there any people operate the machine during your visit? and can i watch the process of processing the cocoa if i was there?because i wonder this is a museum or factory because i would like to visit a factory
Hana> yes, there are people operating the machinery, but they may not be there all the time, as most operations are automated. that’s a real factory so they will show you the manufacturing process.
thanks for ur sharing…..
my pleasure, hana.
thanks so much for ur sharing . it help me for my history project 🙂
You are most welcome 🙂