Mirzam Chocolate Makers & Street 17

Why is it significant?

Step through the glass doors of Warehouse 70 on 17th Street into the intoxicating, sweet aroma of roasting cocoa beans at Mirzam Chocolate Makers.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Step through the glass doors of Warehouse 70 on 17th Street into the intoxicating, sweet aroma of roasting cocoa beans at Mirzam Chocolate Makers. Named after the celestial star Mirzam—the brilliant blue-white star in the Canis Major constellation that guided ancient Arabian navigators across the seas—this is Dubai's premier artisanal bean-to-bar chocolate factory. Here, you can watch the entire craft production process through panoramic glass windows: master chocolatiers sorting raw cocoa beans, roasting them over gentle heat, and crushing them in granite stone melangers. The factory pays homage to the historic Maritime Spice Route that linked Arabian seaports with the spice islands of Asia and Africa. Every step honors the heritage of seafaring trade that built the port of Dubai.

Watch the massive granite wheels of the stone grinders turn continuously for over seventy-two hours to achieve microscopic smoothness without chemical emulsifiers. Mirzam sources single-origin cocoa beans directly from small family plantations in Vietnam, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, and India. Each bar is infused with regional Arabian spices, including freshly ground cardamom, mountain saffron, roasted pistachios, sea salt, and crispy regag bread, creating a taste profile rooted in Emirati culinary culture. Chocolatiers hand-temper the molten chocolate on cool marble slabs before pouring it into custom geometric molds.

The packaging of each chocolate bar is an individual work of art, featuring original hand-painted illustrations by Emirati and regional artists. The wrappers depict maritime maps, desert constellations, and the mythic voyages of Arabian merchants sailing dhows through monsoon squalls. Mirzam has won dozens of prestigious international accolades at the Academy of Chocolate and International Chocolate Awards in London, placing Dubai firmly on the global culinary craft map. It represents the perfect synthesis of local storytelling and rigorous artisanal gastronomy.

Ask to sample the single-origin drinking chocolate: it is whisked with hot water, cocoa butter, and raw honey according to ancient Mesoamerican and Arab spice traditions.

Walk east along 17th Street and turn north onto 6A Street to admire the monumental industrial street art murals.