June 14, 2012
Monica always has fun things planned when I visit her in Seattle. Well, truth be told we're both big on planning activities ahead of time and have a running list of things to do in Seattle when I get to head north. In the first few years we did all the typical Seattle stuff - the Fremont Troll, Gas Works Park, Pike's Place Market, the Underground Tour... There's still a few things to cross off the list, like the EMP and taking another trip up the space needle (which was something I did while in junior high before Monica and I became friends). But we've started to branch out and explore lesser known things. Like the Theo Chocolate factory.
The factory is located in the Fremont neighborhood. It's not all that big, but word on the street is that they are the only organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate factory in North America. That means they buy sustainably grown beans directly from the farmers for a fair price, then process the beans in the factory to make the chocolate bars. And when you take the factory tour you get to learn all about the process starting at the farms, all-the-while tasting different types of chocolate. Then you get to walk through the factory and see how the beans are processed and wave to all the workers who will wave back at you. The confection room was probably my favorite though. Because who doesn't love confections?! I got to taste a mint one, which was a bit too minty for me, and a raspberry one, which was divine. The tour is then concluded and you're let loose into the store, where you can try all the different types of chocolate, and buy as much as you'd like (or that your bank account will allow). This is where I instantly fell in love with the Chai Tea Fantasy Bar. I had to restrain myself and only buy one though so I could splurge a little on caramels and confections, like the Big Daddy. I may have to beg Monica for a package of them for Christmas. They are amazingly delicious!
I almost forgot to tell you about the best part of the tour though! You get to sport very sexy blue shower caps, as modeled by Monica below. Unfortunately I didn't take very many photos during the tour because most of the time you're in a little glass room looking in on the factory, which just creates a reflection when you try to take a photo. They kinda push you through the actual factory into the confections room, so I wasn't able to take any pics while we walked through, and then there wasn't anything going on in the confections room while we were in there that was photo-worthy. So I suppose you'll just have to go check it out for yourself. And if you do....bring me some chocolate, k?
Monica's Sexy Hat
Bean Roaster (I think)
