After a few hours of sightseeing on the narrow, mountainous roads, my friend and I were eager to get our hands on some ice cream. We sped into the parking lot, only heeding the "Yo! Please go slow!" sign half-heartedly. Cows, spoons and pints were everywhere. We were hungry already.
We ran into the factory and purchased our $2 tickets for the next guided tour, sold by the appropriately dressed tour guide in overalls and a Ben & Jerry's t-shirt. Finally, with the ringing of a cowbell, we were invited to enter the inner-factory doors. We came first to the Cow Over The Moon Theater for our "moovie" which explained the history of Ben & Jerry's. The founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, were childhood friends who took a
$5 class which taught them how to make ice cream. They earned a diploma in the subject and turned their newly-earned skills towards a successful and fun business venture. They opened their own shop in 1978 in a renovated gas station in Burlington, VT. Ben and Jerry established a unique three-part mission statement: product quality, economic success and social responsibility. This, along with dedication to respect the community and their employees, makes Ben & Jerry's an easy company to support.
Now for the fun part. The tour guide led us from the theater to the mezzanine above the actual production level. We were lucky-usually there is no ice cream production on the weekends, but today the machines were up and running. With our noses pressed to the glass windows, we listened hungrily to all the details of ice cream production. The guide explained all the steps along the way: the precise temperature of each stage of production, the beginning and end products and anything we might want to know. We saw fresh Vermont milk, huge barrels of brownie chunks and cookie dough, stacks of lids, pint containers and packaging (which, by the way, is made of 100% recycled, unbleached paper). Furthermore, the milk is all from small, local farmers who promise not to use rBGH, a controversial growth hormone used to make the cows produce more milk. Even the tour tickets are reused. It was all almost too good to be true. The factory is clean and colorful, with music playing and the workers talking animatedly. Then again, who wouldn't be happy with a three free pints a day of Ben & Jerry's, courtesy of the factory? My friend and I quickly vowed to work for the company one day.
Next came what we had all been waiting for: the FlavoRoom. This multi-colored, festive room was the perfect place to sample the two flavors of the day, World's Best Vanilla and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. They were both absolutely delicious, especially after witnessing the care that goes into their production.
Make sure to listen carefully during the tour, because it was in this room that we were quizzed on our listening skills and memory-or perhaps just our obsession with ice cream. "What temperature, precisely," our tour guide asked with a grin, "is the ice cream when we add the chunks?" My friend, the pre-med EMT whose selective memory is particularly toned, jumped up and down, waving her hand in the air. I won't tell you the answer, but she was right, and she got a "Chunky Monkey" Ben & Jerry's magnet as a reward.
Sadly, it was time to end the tour, which lasted a heavenly half an hour. But all was not lost-the inner-factory doors exit into the scoop shop and gift shop. The scoop shop has more than 30 of Ben & Jerry's creative flavors, in case your free samples left you hungry for more. In the gift shop, you can purchase t-shirts, coffee mugs (my choice), hats, toys, dog biscuits, bumper stickers and other fun merchandise. Among my favorites were the pint-locks complete with combination codes (keep others out of your ice cream!) and the books of pint coupons to distribute to your friends. Most of the gifts were also surprisingly reasonably priced.
With reluctance-but also with full stomachs, smiling faces and plenty of cow merchandise-we finally left the factory. The Ben & Jerry's Factory should not be missed.
For more information:
Contact the factory hot line at (866) BJ-TOURS.