![\"Michaels](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Michaels-Chocolates-storefront.jpg\")
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At the end of September 2023, artisan chocolatier Michael\u2019s Chocolates<\/a><\/strong> celebrated their 2nd anniversary with a special in-store event that included deals on chocolate purchases and lots of free samples. I also got to catch up with store namesake Michael Benner who has been having a very busy 2 years since opening his first brick and mortar location.<\/p>\n The store is open 6 days a week and they make most of their chocolate treats in-house. So while the front of the shop can have a serene feel, behind the scenes there is usually someone infusing ganaches, enrobing a surprising assortment of treats, molding bars, packaging finished items, and now even baking cookies.<\/p>\n On top of that, you can order hot chocolate, coffee drinks, and gelato to enjoy in the space or take with you along with whatever goodies you purchased for later.<\/p>\n As if keeping a chocolate business up and going wasn\u2019t enough, they also are one of the chocolatiers Dandelion Chocolate<\/a><\/strong> selected to fill their amazing Advent calendars. So when I visited they were jamming on making 1000\u2019s of bonbons for this year\u2019s calendar. And preparing for the Fall Holiday Chocolate Salon<\/a>. Whew! Did I cover everything? Probably not. Yet even with all of that going on Michael was his usual personable self throwing a party and chatting with us attendees.<\/p>\n I roamed around the store a bit snapping pix and noticed that in addition to their own chocolate they carry some SFBA producers of chocolate and other food items. Local chocolate they carry are Marich<\/a>, Rainy Day<\/a>, Raphio<\/a>,<\/strong> and\u00a09th & Larkin<\/a>.<\/strong> Non-chocolate items in The Friends\u2019 Corner include oils and vinegars from Olive This Olive That<\/a> and alfajores (sandwich butter cookies) by Destino<\/a> of San Francisco. Their gelato comes from Berkeley based Alamare Italian Gelato<\/a> and their coffee is from Alameda\u2019s Signal Coffee Roasters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Michael told me that he plans to expand on The Friends\u2019 Corner. \u201cWhen I started I wanted to fill all the shelves myself but that\u2019s ridiculous,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t do it all myself.\u201d<\/p>\n He plans to include more gifty stuff. New items he will be carrying include caramels by local Kindred Caramels<\/a>,<\/strong> 3 flavors of Oregon based Holm Made Toffee<\/a><\/strong> (which we are familiar with from TasteTV competitions<\/a> and can recommend), and local Fabula Tea<\/a>\u2019s high end teas.<\/p>\n He won\u2019t stop with filling The Friends\u2019 Corner, he plans to expand his own offerings with more inclusion bars plus a whole craft section. He will also be doing more enrobed chocolate \u2014 currently they enrobe ginger, orange peels, marshmallows, Red Vines, gummy bears, and Oreos. Whaaa?!<\/p>\n \u201cSome things I never ever thought I would do \u2014 like chocolate covered Oreos which Michael Mischer<\/a><\/strong> [previous chocolatier in this location] used to do,\u201d Michael explained. \u201cA woman came in asking for chocolate covered Oreos. \u2018Aren\u2019t you Michael?\u2019 \u2018Yeah, but that was the other Michael.\u2019 I\u00a0was like \u2018I\u2019m a fancy chocolatier\u2019 but then I tried them in good couverture and they\u2019re delish. So we carry them now.\u201d<\/p>\n And Red Vines? \u201cWe\u2019re playing with the enrober,\u201d Michael said. \u201cOne day I came in to find \u2014 \u2018Are those Red Vines? Why are they brown?\u2019 My production manager likes Red Vines and always has some nearby. So he put them through the enrober. We used top quality chocolate \u2014 this is Dandelion chocolate \u2014 and decided they were good enough to sell. We wanted to lighten things up.\u201d<\/p>\n Another new product at Michael\u2019s is mendiants \u2014 those chocolate discs sprinkled with various goodies. Michael pointed out that they are doing small mendiants made with 62% dark chocolate that they top with toasted pistachios and pecans, orange peel, and dried sour cherries.<\/p>\n I really liked these. The inclusions made me think of fruitcake \u2014 but like a really good version \u2014 covered in chocolate. It just said holiday to me.<\/p>\n I liked biting the orange part first to get an orange chocolate flavor going then biting the nut section for a crunchy chewy experience and finishing with the tart dried cherry. The orange was assertive and slightly bitter. The roasted pecan was crunchy with a hint of salt. The chewy pistachio was a milder flavor. The dried cherry had soft chew and a good tart cherry flavor. There was enough of each flavor to make for distinct experiences and they worked well together. Two thumbs up!<\/p>\n Talking about the new mediants Michael said he\u2019s playing with different couvertures for his chocolates. It\u2019s still mostly Guittard<\/a><\/strong> and some Valrhona<\/strong><\/a> but he\u2019s bringing in Felchlin<\/a>, <\/strong>the Swiss chocolate maker, for some bars in white and milk chocolate.<\/p>\n And of course Dandelion Chocolate. He started experimenting with Dandelion single origins when he got the first Advent Calendar gig \u2014 all the chocolatiers use Dandelion chocolate for their submissions to the calendars. Then he did the Spirits & Craft Collection for Dandelion which is available year round at Dandelion and now at Michael\u2019s. For this collection he uses Dandelion\u2019s 70% Camino Verde which he described as a versatile fudgy chocolate.<\/p>\n He told me he\u2019s also doing a collaboration with St. George Spirits<\/a>, the Alameda based distillery that Michael sources a lot of the liqueurs for his bonbons from. He hit a hiccup with the Spirits & Crafts Collection when St. George stopped making their raspberry liqueur. They weren\u2019t able to get a good supply of raspberries this year so they suspended production. Luckily he found Richmond CA\u2019s Falcon Spirits Distillery<\/a>\u2019s raspberry liqueur that is less sweet and gives the chocolates \u201coomph.\u201d<\/p>\n The Spirits & Craft Collection has been updated with the Falcon Spirits Raspberry bonbon and a Hazelnut Espresso Crunch bonbon that uses St. George\u2019s NOLA Coffee Liqueur and Dandelion\u2019s 70% Camino Verde. With NOLA in the name you know this liqueur has chicory in it which presented a challenge to Michael who said, \u201cVegetal notes are not my thing.\u201d<\/p>\n It turned out just fine \u2014 of course Michael wouldn\u2019t release something if it didn\u2019t meet his standards. The bonbon\u2019s ganache uses cream infused with espresso and the coffee liqueur topped with a layer of candied hazelnuts and all enrobed in the Camino Verde couverture. With chocolate, espresso, and hazelnuts dominating, the coffee liqueur\u2019s chicory was not noticeable as such. It supported the nutty coffee flavors of the piece.<\/p>\n Michael has a similar piece \u2014 Hazelnut Espresso \u2014 which uses the same espresso\/coffee liqueur infused ganache this time in 72% couverture from Guittard and cacao nibs instead of candied hazelnuts. The taste was similar but the texture was different with the cacao nibs being chewy, not crunchy.<\/p>\n I got to compare bonbons partly because Michael was looking for feedback but also there were full-sized samples of different bonbons at the celebration. Now that\u2019s a party!<\/p>\n The case was full of bonbons in lots of flavors \u2014 and Michael generously gave me some to sample \u2014 including new ones, experiments that may or may not make it into the case, and a discontinued one that I hope reappears someday.<\/p>\n The Citrus Burst was a riff on Michael\u2019s award winning Lemon Burst bonbon. It used an orange based vodka with orange, grapefruit, and lime juice plus zest to flavor the white chocolate ganache in a dark chocolate shell that was airbrushed a warm orange color.<\/p>\n Even with all that citrus infusing the ganache it wasn\u2019t strong tasting. A little bitter and definitely citrus but mildly so. The ganache was very smooth with a slight spiciness at the end but that could\u2019ve been my taste buds getting confused by the citrus combo.<\/p>\n The piece I was most interested to try was the Root Beer Absinthe. The other Michael used to make a Root Beer Liquid Caramel bonbon<\/a> in dark or milk chocolate that I loved. This one combines root beer and absinthe in dark chocolate. The combo makes sense because both root beer and absinthe have licorice overtones.<\/p>\n The fruity dark chocolate shell melted into licorice then root beer flavors in the super smooth ganache. The strong root beer flavor dominated but the more vegetal absinthe appeared at the finish. Root beer\/chocolate flavors lingered. The combination is so good, I hope this becomes a regular in the collection.<\/p>\n As is often the case when talking with Michael I learned something new. He told me he was using Real Deal Root Beer Syrup from\u00a0Burly Beverages in Sacramento and he mentioned they make shrubs in addition to soda syrups. So I asked him what shrubs are exactly. A friend gave me a bottle once and I had no idea what it was or what to do with it.<\/p>\n Michael explained that shrubs are syrups made with vinegar used by bartenders in cocktails. He said they were developed back in the day when getting fresh fruit juices wasn\u2019t always possible so it was a way of preserving fruit flavors to use in cocktails.<\/p>\n The new Chili Ginger Mule bonbon was a spicy riff on a Moscow Mule Cocktail. It was an arresting bright green and was made with ginger vodka, ginger beer, and fresh ginger. It was flavored with 3 types of chili, cilantro, and lime but Michael felt it was too mild and planned to infuse the chilis next time. It was spicy but ginger spicy which was nice in itself but I look forward to trying the next iteration that captures Michael\u2019s vision better.<\/p>\n I got to try a bonbon that wasn\u2019t in the case yet \u2014 in fact it was one that Michael was preparing for the 2023 Top Luxury Caramel Awards<\/a> competition. The Spiced Pear Old Fashioned Caramel had a dark chocolate shell surrounding a pear brandy and whiskey infused vanilla caramel spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and allspice. Inside the chocolate it had an intense sweet pear flavor, the spices and alcohol flavors were secondary.<\/p>\n Finally I got to try the Coffee Brandy bonbon which was being discontinued \u2014 the bonbons in the case were the last of this chocolate which seems like a shame to me.<\/p>\n It had a very distinct brandy flavor with dried cherry notes \u2014 it wasn\u2019t very coffee tasting at all, instead it was all about the brandy and chocolate combo. It was yummy.<\/p>\n You may have noticed that the bonbons I sampled at Michael\u2019s had booze in them. With a background that includes 30 years as a sommelier that isn\u2019t surprising.\u00a0Even with so many of these alcohol based bonbons, don\u2019t expect a boozy experience from Michael\u2019s Chocolates. As Michael said, \u201cI don\u2019t do boozy for the sake of being boozy \u2014 not when Old Potrero costs $85 a bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n (Old Potrero is the single malt whiskey Michael uses for his classic Old Potrero Rye Whiskey bonbons that you can buy individually at the shop or as part of the Spirits & Craft Collection or the Whiskey Lovers\u2019 Collection. It\u2019s from another SFBA maker, this time SF\u2019s Hotaling & Co.<\/a>)<\/p>\n He uses spirits and wines judiciously \u2014 often with other ingredients \u2014 to create multi-dimensional taste experiences that often include unexpected delights like the mild spiciness at the end of the Citrus Burst.<\/p>\n He also likes to do tasting events of chocolate and wine and spirits. In January he will be participating in an annual Zinfandel wine tasting that he does every year. This year 50 wineries will be participating and he plans to pair a Cassis bonbon with the wines.<\/p>\n We got into this discussion because I wanted to get his take on pairing chocolate with wine. He told me something surprising: He doesn\u2019t recommend pairing wine with bars of chocolate. They are both high in tannins so it\u2019s hard to balance these two. Instead he says to pair wine with truffles: \u201cTruffles work better than bars because of the dairy \u2014 you have fat to carry the flavors.\u201d<\/p>\n As is expected with a sommelier he has a lot of suggestions for what to pair with what. For example, he suggested pairing Cabernet Sauvignon and salted caramels. If you want to do a wine and chocolate tasting I think you can\u2019t go wrong getting Michael\u2019s recommendations for companion drinks while buying some bonbons at the shop.<\/p>\n While in the store I tried the house-baked chocolate chip and sea salt cookies which they helped DOUGH XX<\/a> develop. DOUGH XX is an SFBA business started by Omar Mamoon, an entrepreneur and food writer for 7×7.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Michael told me they thought about making cookies from scratch at the store but they don\u2019t want cross contamination \u2014 flour is a no-no but already mixed dough is okay. Michael liked how Omar was using all real ingredients \u2014 butter, flour, sea salt, Guittard chocolate \u2014 in his dough.<\/p>\n Another selling point for Michael was that there are no eggs in the dough. Instead DOUGH XX uses finely ground chia seeds. \u201cNo worries about salmonella,\u201d Michael explained. \u201cYou can eat it raw.\u201d And the chia seed dough gives the cookies a nice chew, balanced between a crispy cookie and a soft cookie.<\/p>\n Michael said Omar tried to make a vegan version but it had a strange taste: \u201cNobody wants fishy chocolate chip cookies.\u201d Agreed. So while the cookies don\u2019t have eggs in them they aren\u2019t vegan.<\/p>\n In addition to straight up cookies, you can also get ice cream sandwiches made with the cookies and gelato they carry. \u201cGelato stretches the life of the cookies,\u201d Michael said. \u201cChocolate chip cookies get stale so at the end of the day and I found that they have the perfect amount of stale-ness to sandwich a scoop of gelato and freeze hard \u2014 they\u2019re like It\u2019s It<\/a> but with really good cookies and gelato.\u201d<\/p>\n Another item with a longer shelf life at Michael\u2019s are their bars\/tablets. You can buy tablets online but if you go to the store you can maybe snag a limited edition bar or an experimental bar that Michael is testing to see what the feedback is before adding it to the main collection.<\/p>\n That\u2019s how I first tried Michael\u2019s Dark Chocolate with Crystalized Ginger Tablet. Making chocolate covered crystalized ginger he was left with a lot of ginger pieces that were too small to stand alone.<\/p>\n Michael uses certified organic ginger from China so the pieces were too precious to throw away. Instead he scattered a generous amount of candied ginger over the back of a 70% dark chocolate bar. And the ginger chocolate tablet was born. It did well enough to move from experiment to regular part of the collection.<\/p>\n The tablet has a very chocolatey taste balanced by a spicy hot ginger flavor. Michael also offers the chocolate covered ginger pieces so how to choose which one? If you want a more spicy ginger taste buy the pieces. If you want a more balanced chocolate\/ginger combo get the tablet.<\/p>\n The same is true for the Peanut Butter Crunch bonbon vs. the tablet. The tablet is more chocolate, the bonbon is more peanut butter. They both have a delightful small crunch from feuillitine, a strong peanut butter aroma, and a good peanut butter taste in dark chocolate \u2014 there\u2019s just more of it in the bonbon.<\/p>\n The Dark Chocolate Peppermint Tablet however has a distinct difference from the Organic Peppermint bonbon so my rule of thumb doesn\u2019t always work.<\/p>\n They both have a refreshing peppermint flavor that plays above the very chocolatey\/not bitter dark chocolate. And the flavors are balanced with a pleasant lingering mint chocolate aftertaste.<\/p>\n But the tablet has crushed peppermint candy added which gives it a stronger aroma and a more fun experience. As Cacaopod said, \u201cEven before it got in my mouth it was tasty.\u201d<\/p>\n The tablet\u2019s crunchy texture is very satisfying to chew first and then let it melt. The bonbon is super smooth and melts easily. So I guess the choice is what texture do you feel like today?<\/p>\n Now that winter is here maybe it\u2019s time to indulge in Michael\u2019s hot chocolate. The drinks are made to order using a 72% Guittard couverture and you can get yours made with oat milk or almond milk if you don\u2019t want to drink dairy.<\/p>\n Michael told me that business has been good since opening the store. He said they were lucky getting the place because as a former chocolate shop the space was already built out so it was ready to go except for some tile work and hand sink partitions they added. He said even with no marketing, sales are great and the collaborations they are doing with Dandelion and others are still going strong.<\/p>\n![\"Dandelion\u2019s](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Dandelions-2023-Advent-Calendar.png\")
Friends\u2019 Corner<\/h2>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/The-Friends-Corner.jpg\")
Expanded product line<\/h2>\n
![\"Enrobed](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Enrobed-Oreos.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Enrobed-Red-Vines.jpg\")
![\"3](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/3-mendiants.jpg\")
Variety of sources<\/h2>\n
![\"Spirits](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Spirits-Craft-Collection.jpg\")
![\"counter](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/counter-at-Michaels-with-free-samples.jpg\")
Bonbon sampling<\/h2>\n
![\"Well](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Michaels-bonbons.jpg\")
![\"Citrus](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Citrus-Burst-bonbon.jpg\")
![\"Root](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Root-Beer-Absinthe-bonbon.jpg\")
![\"Chili](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Chili-Ginger-Mule.jpg\")
![\"Spiced](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Spiced-Pear-bonbon.jpg\")
![\"Coffee](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Coffee-Brandy-bonbon.jpg\")
Chocolate & spirits & wine, oh my!<\/h2>\n
![\"Spirits](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Spirits-and-Craft-Collection-box.jpg\")
It\u2019s It!<\/h2>\n
![\"Gelato](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Gelato-at-Michaels.jpg\")
Bars of goodness<\/h2>\n
![\"Dark](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Dark-Chocolate-with-Crystalized-Ginger-Tablet.jpg\")
![\"Dark](\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Dark-Chocolate-Peppermint-Tablets.jpg\")
More to look forward to<\/h2>\n