After Aggie Ice Cream and Aggie Cheese, Utah State University’s chocolate factory could be the start of a new food tradition

For more than a century, the school has been producing ice cream and cheese, using the milk from its own herd of cows.

Next week, it will open the Aggie Chocolate Factory — the only artisan chocolate-making facility at a university in the West.

“Maybe this will be the beginning of another 100-year-old tradition,” said USU Professor Silvana Martini, who teaches the school’s chocolate course, which this semester has attracted 130 students.

After several weeks in the classroom learning the history, chemistry and politics of chocolate, students in Martini’s general education class will break into small groups of 10 to 15 to work in the factory, where they participate in every step of the chocolate-concocting process — from roasting and grinding beans to tempering and molding bars.