I considered this “good” chocolate — before I was enlightened

With Valentine’s Day being just under 2 weeks away, I thought I’d blog about chocolate.

Up until a few months ago, I thought I knew everything about chocolate — it comes from a cacao plant and brightens my day when I seek it out. While I wasn’t a big fan of chocolate, any chocolate made by Hershey or Nestlé would do. Even Dove and Ferrero Rocher were “high quality” (i.e., expensive and never consumed by me unless it was given to me by someone else) to me.

But all that changed one day last November, thanks to the Chocolate Indulgence Tour offered by Savor Seattle Tours.

I’m not a chocoholic by any means, so when my boyfriend mentioned that he had booked us this tour, I was skeptical that I’d enjoy it at all. The only chocolate tour I wanted to go on would be led by Johnny Depp with his big crazy hat and weird outfit (and accent).

We met up with our tour guide, Aubree, in the lobby the Mayflower Park Hotel. Our first stop was a just few steps away at Oliver’s Lounge. Chocolate cocktails at 11 AM? Yes, please! From there, the chocolatey journey begins.

I thought I’d just be consuming chocolate candies. I was wrong again. It’s an educational tour that takes you behind the wrapper and glass cases. We also sank our teeth into ice cream and exotic popcorn that were sweet but had little or no chocolate. It was a great palate cleanser (IMHO).

You can’t just have 1 or 2. Have a box of them!

The tour ended at Fran’s Chocolates, which has become my new standard for chocolate. My absolute favorite was the Smoked Salt caramels. I was apprehensive about seeing salt crystals sitting atop chocolate, but the flavor is just perfect! It’s so good that our current president deemed it to be his favorite when he made a stop at Fran’s. Fran’s is definitely a Seattle jewel of the city.

I was sad when the tour end. Not only did I love the chocolate, but I found our guide Aubree to be the punniest woman I’ve ever encountered. She made me  melt with her quick wit. Her enthusiasm for chocolate was just a sweet spot in my eyes.

If you plan on taking a trip to Seattle, add this tour to your “Must Do” List!