TCHO: Obsessively good chocolate for a new generation.

This is not a paid endorsement, but it might sound like one because I am about to wax poetic about San Francisco chocolate company TCHO, which I had the pleasure of trying when I went to the ferry building on Saturday.

Lifted shamelessly from their website:

TCHO is the only chocolate factory in San Francisco.

TCHO is located in the heart of San Francisco, at Pier 17 on the legendary San Francisco waterfront, between Fisherman’s Wharf and the Ferry Building, and five minutes from SF landmarks the Transamerica Pyramid and Coit Tower.

Since I was unsure if it was going to be any good, I looked at their flavor wheel and decided to go with "Nutty" rather than "Chocolatey," reasoning that a lot of places don't have quite the right bittersweetness in their dark chocolate, so I'd rather not set myself up for disappointment. Plus, this stuff is expensive.

Also the packaging is very nerdy-cool.

Here's a better product picture.

And my verdict is... DELICIOUS. Although I haven't found anything to beat Ghirardelli's 86% Intense Dark or Alter Eco's Dark Mint Chocolate, this gives them a serious run for their money. It started out sweet like milk chocolate, at which point I almost complained, but then some other flavor I can't pinpoint came out (I assume it's the nuttiness), then all was bittersweet. It's like watching a Korean drama... for your tongue.

I guess I'll be eating my words (and their chocolate) about TCHO probably not having the right bittersweetness, because I can't wait to try Earthy and...Chocolatey.