If you've ever had the chance to visit Almaty, you've surely been surprised and delighted by the delicious scent of hot chocolate that floats in the air around the 28 Panfilov Park area and the Kok Bazaar. It's in this corner, along Zenkov Street, that paradise for sweet lovers nestles: the Rakhat Chocolate Factory.
This factory opened its doors in 1942, during World War II, and began operating thanks to equipment evacuated from confectioneries in Moscow and Kharkiv. At the time, it was called very simply "Almaty Confectionery Factory".
Today, the two Rakhat factories, one historic, located in the heart of Almaty, and the other more recent, based in Shymkent, employ more than 4,000 people.
It's no secret that the factory's most famous product is the renowned "Kazakhstan" chocolate bar, proudly displaying the colors of the national flag. It's an essential souvenir for anyone who has visited Kazakhstan, and a staple that every Kazakh heading abroad slips into their suitcase!
Today, the Rakhat factory's catalog features nearly 300 products, each bearing a name in Kazakh or Russian: "friendship", "summer", "dream", "muse", "pleasure", "flowers", etc. Kazakhs indeed have a pronounced weakness for sweets, which are invariably present in abundance on every respectable table.
Does the factory's seventy-five-page catalog make you dream? Allow the authors of this article to suggest a little tasting: let yourself be tempted by the wafers called "Surprise"... but be aware that we decline all responsibility for their potentially addictive nature!
