“I think what we’re doing is important, it’s important for chocolate. And it’s important for us that this type of chocolate is known about.”
Meet Todd Masonais, the co-founder and chocolate maker behind Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco, a very special, small-batch chocolate company dedicated to nothing else but sharing the pure flavor of the cacao bean.
I must say, I never realized how romantic making chocolate could be until I got some close-ups of the process. Todd is such an interesting character and I just love his passion for picking out the nuances of a cacao bean. When I was there, he walked me through a chocolate taste test, and I was blown away with the complexity of each bean he presented. He’s right, you don’t need to add anything to make chocolate taste great when the beans are as good as theirs. And to guarantee such award-winning flavors, Todd and his team spend a great deal of time visiting cacao farms, meeting cacao farmers and testing out beans from around the world before deciding which ones get labeled: Dandelion Chocolate.
Hope you enjoy their story! For their chocolate bars, you can visit select retailers out on the West Coast, mostly near or around San Francisco. And the good word is, they’ll be available in a number of New York shops soon too.
The Next Big Small Brand Contest Tasting + Judging Event is March 27th at BAM in Brooklyn. This is the 4th of 6 finalist videos I’m making for the contest. Come out and support small food artisans!
Thanks for watching food. curated.! Happy Chocolate Eating!