Inside New York's new chocolate museum, where visitors can make their own bars

The INSIDER Summary:

• A new chocolate museum is opening in New York City, at chocolatier Jacques Torres' SoHo store. It's open from March 8.
• The museum displays artifacts charting the history of chocolate, from cocoa trees in Central America to mass-produced treats.
  
• Visitors can sample chocolate, see how truffles are made, and mold chocolate into bars to take home.

Did you know that chocolate was consumed as a drink long before it was eaten? Or that people once inhaled it to get high?

These are just some fascinating anecdotes from chocolate's history, which you can learn about at New York's first chocolate museum. 

Choco-Story New York: The Chocolate Museum and Experience opens tomorrow at chocolatier Jacques Torres' SoHo store, and exhibits a display of artifacts and utensils charting the rise of chocolate, from cocoa trees in Central America to solid, mass-produced treats.

There are also tastings, culinary demonstrations, and an opportunity to mold chocolate bars to take home.

The museum is open permanently from Wednesday, March 8.

INSIDER visited the museum for a tour to learn about, make, and eat a lot of chocolate.

This is the entrance to Choco-Story New York, located at Jacques Torres' SoHo store at 350 Hudson Street. The mural was designed by local artists, Torres told journalists on the tour.

Inside, before the tour even begins, visitors are greeted with chocolate truffles — the first of many tastings in the museum.

The first part of the tour is led by chocolate expert Eddy Van Belle, who collaborated with Torres on the museum.

Van Belle amassed his chocolate knowledge from traveling around the world, and has opened four other Choco-Story museums in Belgium, Prague, Paris, and Uxmal, Mexico.