What to do with a Friday afternoon in Seattle? Wheedle your way into the Theo Chocolate Factory tour, of course!
When we arrived at 2:00 p.m., we were informed by the sweet, sympathetic staff that all slots were taken in today’s walk-in tour. But after I promised to carry Clyde on my shoulders and to speak exclusively in the voice of a fine British lady, the giggling staffers, admitting that I must want to go on the tour pretty badly, made space for us.
Theo Chocolate is the nation’s only organic free-trade chocolate maker. The emphasis there should be on “maker,” since all too many chocolatiers these days are really just *melters* of other people’s pre-produced chocolate.
Not so at Theo, where the tour walks you past big sacks of beans, the destoning equipment (that sorts out sticks and stones), the roaster (in service since the 1940’s), and a host of other contraptions designed to change innocent-looking beans into gourmet chocolate and chocolate confections.
The tasting segment is quite nice — we sampled a series of bars from darkest to lightest — but my favorite part was seeing the confection artists at work on Halloween merchandise in the kitchen. (Well, actually, my favorite part was seeing Clyde in the obligatory blue hair net, as pictured above.)
Speaking of Clyde: my wonderful husband lacks certain taste buds keyed to the chemical signature of chocolate, so for him, chocolate has very little taste. (How’s that for a genetic slap in the face?) But one sign of his love for me is how dutifully he sampled each wonderful chocolate bar … despite the fact that each one, to him, tasted pretty much like plastic.
I practiced a bit of self-restraint and left with a sampler of 24 caramels (ah, “Sour Apple Cider Caramel,” your days are numbered!) and a “Big Daddy” bar stuffed with graham cracker and marshmallow and dipped in dark chocolate.
If you’re in Seattle, book your Theo Chocolate tour in advance online, because tours fill up about three weeks in advance. (Or, as I mentioned above, if you’re willing to abase yourself with some bizarre humor, you might manage to squeeze in at the last minute, especially if pre-booked folks are tardy.) Recommended!
So glad you enjoyed it! We visited Theo's last summer with my partners daughter and family, and it was so much fun!