Chocolate With A Techie Pedigree

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That’s what you have in TCHO, the only chocolate factory in San Francisco that actually makes confections from cacao bean to candy. Located on historic Pier 17, the company was founded by former space shuttle technologist, Timothy Childs, who launched it with Louis Rossetto, co-founder of Wired magazine.

TCHO (the name is a combo of “technology” and a nickname for chocolate), is in the process of revamping an old steel molding line from a German castle to make it state-of-the-art with video monitors and computerized control systems. TCHO hopes to open its doors to the public for tours in early 2009.

Meantime, the chocolate is available for purchase online. What makes this chocolate company even more tech-friendly is that it does public beta tests on all its bars. Anyone who wants to shell out $10 for two 50-gram bars in plain brown wrappers can try them and send in their comments before the final formulations are completed.

TCHO uses “common sense” labels to simplify the descriptions of the chocolate bars. The first one, launched earlier this year, was “Chocolatey.”  “Fruity,” a bar that supposes to be reminiscent of fruit without having any really in it, was launched a month ago. And lo and behold, this morning, “Nutty” arrived in my mailbox to try.

I’ll use my patented scale of 1 to 10 lip-smackers, with 1 being the “Bleh, save your money” far end of the spectrum; 5 being the “I’m not sure ‘d buy it, but if it was just there, I might nibble some” middle-of-the-road response; and 10 being the “My gawd, I could die now and never be happier, because this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” supreme ranking.

TCHO “Chocolatey” bar: Like a cup of hot chocolate melting on your tongue. It’s malty, with slight coffee and mocha notes, as well as a pleasant bitter edge. A very smooth chocolate, indeed. Rating: 9 lip-smackers.

TCHO “Fruity” bar: It’s not in-your-face fruity at the get-go like Scharffen Berger is with its amazing cherry, plum, and wine-like notes. It takes a little more time to open up. You want to let this bar melt in your mouth, not just chomp and swallow it in a flash, or else you’ll miss its subtle, complex flavors. Wait for it, wait for it — first, a notable toastiness, then dried currants, then figs, then at the very end, a deep raspberry note. Rating: 8 lip-smackers.

TCHO “Nutty” bar: There are no nuts in this bar, so don’t start getting thoughts of Snickers or Mr. Goodbar. Instead, this dark chocolate bar has nutty notes, a rich roasted barley-like flavor, and a pronounced tang of acidity at the end. Rating: 9 lip-smackers.

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6 comments

  • When I first read about this chocolate, I immediately e-mailed the company asking if it was sold anywhere in the San Jose area…alas, not yet. I’ve been meaning to order some online, so, off to do that now!

  • TCHO doesn’t plan on selling their bars at any other retail outlets besides its own factory store, and via its online site. It wants to keep more control over its products. Let me know what you think of the chocolate when you try it.

  • Wow a 9 is a great rating, must be pretty good! It looks like very high quality and it’s great to know they do everything themselves. Send me some? 🙂

  • I saw these showing up for the first time at the ever trendy Blue Bottle Cafe over on the Mint Plaza the other day. Didn’t know what to make of them and wasn’t willing to shell out the bux for them. Maybe now given the ranking, I’d give them a try.

  • Yes!! I have been meaning to post my reaction for a while now. I have the “chocolatey” bar and as I read, I was thinking, “I’ll bet Carolyn gives this a 9!” Yup, I agree: It’s a 9.

    The balance is perfect and the aftertastes keep coming — for many minutes, you get this parade of flavors.

    And their customer service is awesome.

  • Oh, the bars are at Blue Bottle Cafe now? Thanks for that update, Windspike. Good to know!

    And Moe, you obviously know me too well already. That’s funny you guessed I would give it a 9.

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