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From The Blog

Chocolate Ganache Macaron Gift Box for Valentine’s Day

February 4, 2019 by Karen Solomon

Dandelion Chocolate chocolate ganache macaron for Valentine's Day

 

Loving people can be sweet. But the love of a good cookie can be transformative! For the third year in a row, we are delighted to be tucking our kitchen’s handmade pink macarons into pretty bowed boxes special for Valentine’s Day. Crisp and chewy almond meringue cookies sandwich a Camino Verde, Ecuador single-origin chocolate ganache — this year with the flavors of the kitchen team’s favorite cocktails.

If you’re local to San Francisco, we can’t wait for you to see these – and, of course, to taste them! Mary and the whole kitchen team have been flooded with preparations. You can only imagine what 2,000 macaron tops and bottoms in petal pink look like when spread across our tiny kitchen. We’re only able to produce 100 boxes. And because they’re too delicate to ship, you can only find them at our SF Valencia Street and Ferry Building shops.

In the 2017 blog post Mary wrote the first year we offered this seasonal gift, she points out the difficulty of getting the texture of the cookies right while trying to make so many all at once. “The reason macarons are usually only found in bakeries and restaurants, rather than the home kitchen, is probably that they are a rather intimidating project to take on. Admittedly, if you don’t have a great deal of experience making them, even if you’re a professional baker like I am, the prospect of making macarons can be a little…frightening.”

Why the fear? “The thing about macarons is that something can go wrong at nearly every single step of the process, and they are delicate: the almond flour must be ground and sifted finely enough, the egg whites must be at room temperature, the meringue must be folded into the almond-sugar mixture enough (but not too much!). This process is known as macaronage, and when done correctly, it produces a thick batter that flows like lava but still holds its shape when piped.” Like many great elements of French cooking, the ingredient list for the cookies is simple: ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar. And quite literally, the temperature or humidity of the air can make or break these cookies. It is no small feat to get that perfect crisp-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside texture every time.

The single-origin chocolate ganache filling, made with our Camino Verde, Ecuador ground chocolate and rich cream to make it silky, takes a new twist every year. For 2019, it’s cocktail time! (The rich, chocolatey center will have the flavor of the spirits, but almost none of the booze.) Each box contains 10 macarons total with two of each flavor: Fernet, Mai Tai, Manhattan, Negroni, and Paloma.

The beautiful, reusable gift box is decorated with one of the pretty patterns we design ourselves, and finished with a satin bow we tie by hand. Find the macaron gift box in both of our SF shops February 13th and 14th, 2019, for $35. We’ll also have bouquets of flowers on hand on Valencia Street to help you woo your Valentine.

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My unexpected path to
Dandelion Chocolate Los Angeles

December 3, 2018 by Norah Hernandez

Norah is one of our original employees, and she has worn many hats and tied a lot of bows on our behalf. Right now she’s writing to us from LA, where she’s heading up our newest pop-up shop.

Six years ago this month, the WSJ published two tiny lines that declared: “Dandelion Chocolate makes some of the best chocolate in the world”. Dandelion Chocolate was so small back then, they could not handle the influx of online orders that came through following this little write up. With only 11 or so people in the company at the time, they needed some extra hands to help fulfill these orders for some of the best chocolate in the world – and this is where my journey with Dandelion began.

Norah and her team inside Dandelion Chocolate LA

At the time, I had no experience in chocolate, and thought, what the heck, how fun would it be to help at a chocolate factory! The one day gig included stickering bars (which we did by hand back then), sorting beans, foiling bars and tying the three packs with ribbon. Without realizing it, my first summer job at Tiffany & Co. many, many years prior, helped shaped the iconic Dandelion Chocolate bow. Maya showed me how they had been tying the bow, and without thinking, my muscle memory kicked in and I started tying the bows as I had been trained so many years ago. I owe this talent to be possibly the single reason that I was asked to come back day after day (at that time they could not afford to officially hire me until February of the following year), so I came in every day not knowing if it would be my last and this magical workplace would come to an end. My patience paid off and in February of 2013, I became an official employee and started working on the production team.

Back then, everyone wore many many hats and helped fill voids where ever it was needed, this led to me helping with gift box development and production after work and on the weekends, which turned into the start of our product department. In 2014 I became our first product manager and brand manager (I secretly feel I still hold this title because of the love I feel for our brand), and was responsible for developing new products, the production of current products, merchandising our retail shelves and making sure everything visual was always on-brand.

I eventually transitioned into the retail department when the Ferry Building manager gave notice two years ago. I took this opportunity to use my previous retail expertise and help the company where they needed me most. We were a small hot chocolate stand outside and this location had some challenges. After improving systems and sales during the first few months, the Ferry Building invited us to move inside to the old Scharffen Berger shop. We jumped at the chance to have one of the highly coveted shops inside this iconic San Francisco destination. Overseeing the construction last fall, we were able to open (by the skin of our teeth) the weekend before Christmas. Moving just a few hundred yards inside, we saw an immediate doubling of sales. The Ferry Building had become a real sustainable location for the company.

In the spring of last year, my family made a decision to move to Los Angeles. This decision came with the reality that I would have to leave a company that had made a permanent mark on me, and hopefully I too had made a small mark on it. When I first told Todd I was moving and joked that we should open in LA, he laughed, and then must have thought about it as a serious idea and came back to me and asked if I was really serious. I mean, how could I not be! Moving to a city that I love and bringing the chocolate and the company that I adore to share with this city has been an amazing opportunity for me. If there is anything I know about LA from living here years ago, it is that this city appreciates good food, beautiful design and amazing stories. I am so excited to share all those things through our pop-up at ROW DTLA for the next six months.

the outside of the Dandelion Chocolate LA shop

We have been open in LA for one week now and I have already met the some of the most amazing people (and kids). I cannot wait to share our story about chocolate and who we are as a company of now ~95 people. This a long way from the days when we all fit around the 12 person table on the mezzanine for All Hands, or the days when Maya started a rumor that if we hit a sales goal, Todd would take us all to Hawaii. At that next All Hands, his last slide just had the word “Rumors” on it, he told us, and I quote, “it would be crazy to shut down and pay for the whole company to go to Hawaii, so it’s lucky for you that we are crazy, we are all going to Hawaii!” Todd’s not crazy, he’s a brilliant visionary and I am so lucky to have stumbled upon his small dream for a chocolate factory he thought maybe 4 people would visit every day.

We will be open at ROW DTLA through April 2019 and our hours are M-F 11-7, Sat & Sun 10-6. We will start hosting Chocolate 101 classes on December 14 and 15 and you can find more details about how to sign up on our website under “Visit Us – Tours & Classes”.

The shelves inside Dandelion Chocolate LA
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12 Nights of Chocolate 2018

November 9, 2018 by Jennifer Roy

In just a few weeks, we’ll be hosting our sixth Annual 12 Nights of Chocolate!

Each year, Dandelion Chocolate invites chefs to take over our factory to create a unique holiday culinary experience for charity. This year we have 38 chefs participating, and there’s only one rule: use Dandelion chocolate on the plate. Each evening is unique in that we ask chefs to create a menu that is entirely their creation – from elegant seven-course dinners to chocolate beer, concretes and burgers! All proceeds from the event go to the SF-Marin Food Bank. In 2017, we helped to raise over 65,000 meals.

The dates are December 2nd through 13th, and we’ll be hosting all of the nights, with exception of movie night, in a beautiful loft space on the second floor of our soon to open chocolate factory on 16th and Alabama Street. Our annual Willy Wonka movie night will take place at our Valencia café.

Donation bins will be located inside our cafe on Valencia Street as well as the event space for the duration of the event. Stop by to drop off cans and non-perishable food anytime during the holiday series.

For the amazing chef line-up and tickets click here.

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The 2018 Advent Calendar is Here!

November 2, 2018 by Karen Solomon

The 2018 Advent calendar tied with a bowMichelle, who headed up this year’s Advent calendar odyssey, grew up in a German home where the holidays are huge, and Advent calendars are treasured handmade heirlooms. Just ask her and she will share her memories of the beloved daily dose of treats, toys, or coins to countdown to the holiday. And, of course, her and her sister’s giddy anticipation of trying to peek inside the pocket to see what tomorrow might bring.

Michelle is bringing some of this spirit to our 2018 Advent calendar–our largest to date by any metric. It’s the most we’ve ever made (800!), the most amount of chocolate collaborators we’ve ever worked with (12!), and the most holiday joy we’ve ever offered (tons!)

To make this project happen, we partnered with some of our favorite San Francisco Bay Area chocolatiers and treat makers to craft the Advent calendar of our childhood dreams. You have to understand that for these small mom-and-pop makers, creating an extra 800 or 1600 bonbons in the months before the holidays is a huge undertaking! We tip our hat to these small shops and thank them for squeezing us onto their busy production line.

This year’s calendar is also a collaboration with artist Maggie Enterrios. We’ve been huge fans of Maggie’s playful, detailed nature illustrations for years, and we were so excited that we finally had the chance to work with her on this extra-large project. Her gorgeous hand drawings of local birds, bugs, and botany brought this year’s design to a whole new level. The detailed lettering and calligraphy are from another artist we admire very much: Lisa Quine. Every calendar in the collection is numbered by hand and comes tied in a shimmering forest green bow. We are so delighted to share this delicious display of edible beauty with you and whoever shares your holidays (and your chocolate).

Each large calendar contains 25 hand-picked, treat-filled, reusable treasure boxes decorated with Maggie’s hand-drawn birds, animals, plants, or flowers that call the SF Bay Area home. The decadent confection inside each box is thoughtfully crafted by people who make the sweets we love. Crisp, smooth, or chewy; chocolatey, fruity, or nutty; the array of flavors and textures changes daily, though the quality and craftsmanship are in every bite. Each treat contains some element of our cocoa nibs or single-origin chocolate. To get you ready for what’s under the lid, know that some of the confection flavors include the Oolong Crisp Bar, Smokey the Bourbon, Gingersnap Praline, Speculoos Coffee Tile, Caramel Crunch, Mini Blood Orange Bonbons, and Burnt Honeycomb. You won’t want to miss out on this once-a-year celebration of art and chocolate! Get yours here.

The inside of the 2018 Advent calendar

2018 Advent calendar collaborators include:

  • Cadence Chocolates
  • CocoTutti
  • Feve Artisan Chocolatier
  • Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates
  • Jade Chocolates
  • Le Dix-Sept
  • Michael’s Chocolates
  • Mojo Bakes! SF
  • NeoCocoa
  • Salty Sweet
  • Socola Chocolatier
  • tinyB Chocolate

 

Supplies are limited and this is expected to sell out. Shipping is only available within the continental United States.

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A Halloween Debut of a New Web Series Featuring Witches and Chocolate

October 29, 2018 by Megan Giller

Megan Giller is a longtime friend of ours and one of the most prolific journalists and authors in the field of chocolate. She’s also a feminist, a food historian, and our guest blogger for this post. Note that the video mentioned below is not suitable for children.

graphic of woman and birdsWhen I was working on my book, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate: America’s Craft Chocolate Revolution, one of my favorite sections to write was “Chocolate Is for Everybody,” about craft chocolate being made by all sorts of minorities, including women. (After all, my business card says, “food writer, feminist, chocolate eater.”)

I’ve always wanted to write more about women and food, and when I asked Professor Kathryn Sampeck if she knew of some good stories, boy, did she deliver. She sent me two scholarly articles, “Chocolate, Sex, and Disorderly Women in Late-Seventeenth and Early-Eighteenth-Century Guatemala,” by Martha Few, and “Potions and Perils: Love-Magic in Seventeenth-Century Afro-Mexico and Afro-Yucatan,” by Joan Bristol and Matthew Restall.

These dense, academic papers contain a treasure trove of illicit activity. Long story short: In the 1600s and 1700s in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala, thousands of women were accused of bewitching their lovers, enemies, and frenemies with magic hot chocolate. At that time, chocolate was a pretty gritty drink, and you could hide all sorts of ingredients in it. Fears of women spiking hot chocolate stemmed from anxiety about their changing roles in society, and women who challenged the status quo were persecuted — just as they were in every age, and all around the world.

One of the stories is so powerful that it inspired me to start a new project, a digital TV show called What Women Ate. The first episode is about one of the so-called witches, named Cecilia, who was accused of bewitching her husband with hot chocolate and making him impotent (sure, sounds likely). Before I write any more spoilers, here is the full episode for you to watch, just in time for Halloween. If you like what you see, subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow @whatwomenate on Instagram!

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