Ever since I first watched “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” I’ve wanted to tour a chocolate factory. Well, guess who got to take a tour AND in Spanish–para acabalarla– of Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco’s Mission District?
Yup, the answer would be me and in case there is any doubt, I have an unflattering picture of me in a hairnet to prove it.
The gracious young man standing next to me in the photo is chocolatier Obed Lopez, who is also in charge of the Spanish language tours at Dandelion Chocolate.
Through the magic of the internet, Obed found my blog and reached out because he thought the tours in Spanish would be of interest. He wasn’t wrong. My children attend a Spanish immersion program at a local elementary school and I am always on the lookout for ways to supplement their education in Spanish.
I asked Obed if he would be kind enough to host my family on a tour and he said, “Por supuesto que sí.”
Dandelion Chocolate is a “bean-to-bar” factory that makes their chocolate in small batches. Industrial chocolate makers are focused on producing chocolate with a consistent taste at a low cost and you know, there is totally a market for that, but what Dandelion Chocolate does is produce chocolate that is complex, nuanced and unique.
During our tour, we learned all about where the cacao pods that Dandelion Chocolate gets their beans from are grown and all that it takes to be one of the few places in the world that produce chocolate from the bean.
It was all very fascinating and a great lesson in history, but I have to say that tasting the end results was the best part.
We got to blind-taste three different chocolates and they were each delicious and very distinctive.
Dandelion Chocolate has been offering tours in English for some time, but the tours in Spanish are new. The price is only $5 per person and you get a card for one free hot chocolate.
You can find out more about the tours and other classes that Dandelion Chocolate offers on their website.
Regardless of whether you ever take a tour or not, if you find yourself in the Mission District, treat yo’ self to some of the most delicious chocolate EVER.
Dandelion Chocolate
740 Valencia St (at 18th)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 349-0942
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Que rico es el chocolate y poder visitar un fabrica es una gran oportunidad.
What a great thing to do if you were learning Spanish too! Looks fun, in any language.
That looked like it was a lot of fun. I would enjoy a tour like that!
Very nice. That place looks like it is worth a BART trip out there. Thanks for hosting and I hope you have a wonderful week.
Ooh! I want to do the tour now!
You really should, it is super interesting. They also offer other classes where you can make your own chocolate.