Switzerland is world-renowned for its quality chocolate. It has a global reputation for its premium brands. However, residents in a town near Zurich got the surprise of their lives this week. It started snowing chocolate. Locals wondered if the brown dusting was a bizarre result of climate change. All became clear after the local chocolate maker said the brown shower was because of a malfunction at its factory. The chocolate maker confirmed that a minor defect in its cooling systems allowed gusty winds to whip up chocolate dust and sprinkle it over the town.

A fine layer of light brown, milk-chocolate-flavoured dust covered the town. The company offered to pay for any cleaning services required as a result of the accident. A spokeswoman reassured people near the factory that crushed cocoa beans are harmless to health and the environment. She said engineers are working on repairing the technical hitch. The cocoa-dust incident led to a lot of jokes on social media. A Twitter user wrote: "Chocolate snowflakes falling from the sky, dreams do come true." Another tweeter posted a comment saying: "I'm dreaming of a brown Christmas."