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A Visit to Dandelion Chocolate


Last year, as part of D's birthday celebration, we took the Chocolate Walking Tour of San Francisco. Our tour guide Michelangelo had given us other suggestions of must-try chocolate places that weren't included in the itinerary and one of the spots was Dandelion Chocolate. We came across their stand in the Ferry Building, but that location didn't serve the cacao pulp smoothie. So, we put on our to-do going to the shop in the Mission District. We finally made it during his birthday trip this year.


He started with the Chef's Tasting platter. It included:

  • Cacao Spritzer, Venezuela
  • S'more, Papua New Guinea
  • Pumpkin Spice Cake, Liberia
  • Huckleberry Macaron, Madagascar
  • Nib-Infused Panna Cotta, Ecuador



We, of course, had the cacao pulp smoothie. It was a little chilly outside for it, but we sipped and shivered our way through. It tasted very similar to lychee.


Jake's favorite was the strong, rich cup of European-style sipping chocolate. "Can you make this?" Sure. "Tonight?" Ummm...no. How about tomorrow night?"Okay."


And, most 12-year-olds want toys or books for their birthday. Mine wanted a cacao pod. Yes, I bought it for him!

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