Dandelion Small Batch Chocolate

70% Mantuano, Venezuela 2012 Harvest

Before tasting my latest chocolate diversion lets take some time for a little reflection.......

For those of you who enjoy a little flutter, you will understand and perhaps have some sympathy for those, including me, who put all their hard earned cash on Battle Group, who decided enough was enough and planted his hooves firmly into terra ferma. Not liking what he saw ahead he failed to venture any further preferring to watch from the stands of Aintree. From that moment on I knew all my horses were destined to fail and indeed they did. Fortunately, they and their brave jockeys made it round in one piece. Betting....it's a mugs game! 

Continuing this theme. Our lovely politicians are still taking us all for mugs as David Cameron fails to sack his Culture Secretary, Maria Miller, for not declaring all her expenses, apparently she should have paid back £44k instead of £5.8k. I'm sure if we did this in the real world our bosses would be moving us swiftly to the exit marked 'P45'! C'mon David show some backbone! Ok, enough ranting....

Me (on the left) in San Fran 1970's

Dandelion Chocolate is a company I've heard so much about and at last I have managed to secure a few bars. Fortunately, my eldest son visited San Francisco recently and thoughtfully stashed a few bars in his bag for the return trip. 

When I visited San Francisco in the 70's chocolate wasn't on my mind and Dandelion Chocolate certainly wasn't in existence! The day I travelled to the States the captain of the flight announced that Elvis had just died. Not a great start!

Dandelion Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the Mission District of San Francisco. Opening their business in 2010, following extensive research and experimentation, they predominately focus on making small batches of chocolate and as it 'states on the tin' they do everything by hand. They use two ingredients, cocoa and cane sugar to ensure you can taste the nuances of each bar.

70% Mantuano, Venezuela, 2012 Harvest, originates from beans harvested by a female-run co-op nestled in the tropical hills of the Caribbean coast of Venezuela. To quote what's on the packaging, "For Norah's first batch, she chose a roast profile inspired by a coffee roasting technique: higher temperature for a shorter time. We taste notes of fudge brownie and espresso with a lovely cinnamon finish'. 

www.dandelionchocolate.com

Well, I'm delighted to tell you that this is a delicious bar of chocolate and even my jaded taste buds can pick out the espresso. Beautifully packaged and presented and how good is that thick gold foil...sumptuous to the touch. A deep mahogany colour, chocolate melts quickly on the tongue, full of fruity zest typical of chocolate from Venezuela! If only all 70% dark chocolate tasted this good. And there was me thinking the only good thing to come out of the States was Elvis! 9/10 guys.

If you can afford the postage you can buy online for $8, click here. 

Perhaps, you're heading to San Francisco then visit this blog, Chocolate Travel Diversions, for some ideas on other places to visit in the area.