The hottest craft chocolate maker "DANDELION CHOCOLATE " in the United States has landed in Japan and will open on February 11th. It is a popular manufacturer of "Bean to Bar" that handles everything from purchasing cacao beans to commercialization in-house.

In San Francisco, where it was founded, many people say that it is the most delicious of the many craft chocolate makers, and it is so popular that production cannot keep up. Actually, the eating editorial department was also listening to the rumor, and I was paying attention to it as much as I was trying to get it sent from the United States.

■ Infiltrate the media preview!


The store will open in Kuramae (Taito-ku, Tokyo), which has been gaining attention in recent years. We have renovated an old building that is more than 50 years old, and have made it a "factory & cafe" with a workshop and stand on the first floor and a cafe and workshop space on the second floor.

All processes from beans to bars (chocolate bars), such as cocoa bean sorting, roasting, crushing, etc., are done manually in this building. Small batch production is also a major feature of Bean to Bar.

The finished chocolate is made simply with cacao beans and cane sugar (sugar made from sugar cane), so you can feel the taste of cacao strongly. Seasonal chocolates (starting from 1,200 yen, prices below do not include tax) will be prepared.

The author tasted three types of chocolate made from "Dominican", "Madagascar" and "Venezuelan" cocoa beans. The ratio is the same as 70% cacao and 30% sugar, but the acidity, bitterness, and sweetness are different. Personally, I liked Madagascar, which has a juicy acidity.


When you taste chocolate, don't chew it right away, but melt it slowly on your tongue. It seems that you can enjoy the taste that changes with the passage of time.

■ Taste the cafe menu


On the cafe menu, you can enjoy drinks and pastries that reproduce the taste of San Francisco stores. Eat-in and To go are possible.

Most of the drinks are chocolate drinks. 3 types of hot and 4 types of ice (cold) are available. I drank "Mission Hot Chocolate" (580 yen), which is a blend of spices. Spicy like cinnamon goes well with sweet chocolate! The almond powder hidden in the bottom is a nice accent.


The pastry's signature menu will be "Brownie Byteflight" (630 yen). Like Bean to Bar, it is a set where you can eat and compare brownies made from single origin chocolate. In addition, brownies, scones, and cookies with plenty of cacao nibs (cacao nuts) are available.


Under such circumstances, the author chose "Papua New Guinea S'more" (450 yen). A square marshmallow with rich chocolate ganache is placed on top of a graham cracker and served with a burner.

The sweetness of marshmallow wraps the bitter ganache with a high cacao content, and the contrast of "bitter x sweet" complements each other. The last thing that remains is the rich flavor of cocoa beans, which is typical of Bean to Bar. It was a fresh taste that I had never eaten before.


■ Factory tour will be held

Dandelion Chocolate was founded in 2010 by two former IT entrepreneurs. The chocolate factory that started in the garage has grown, and Japan was selected as the first overseas store.

At Kuramae Factory & Cafe, factory tours and workshops where you can see chocolate making up close will be held (application required after March). You can try the ingredients and taste the chocolate in the process of production ... Details are undecided, but there must be many surprising discoveries!


【store information】
Dandelion Chocolate [Factory & Cafe Kuramae]
Business hours: 10:00 to 20:00 (last order 19:30)
Number of cafe seats: 70 seats