Dandelion Chocolate opens in front of IseJingu Geku! Introducing menu photos and access

DANDELION CHOCOLATE opened its second store in Ise on Thursday, December 22, 2016, following its Tokyo location! We immediately asked him for an interview.

The official name of the store is ``Dandelion Chocolate Geku Umiyama Hida Musée''. The location is conveniently located, about 5 minutes walk from IseCity Station and right next to IseJingu Jingu Geku. To access from IseCity Station, get off the JR side of the station and walk along Geku approach towards IseJingu Geku.

If you turn left a little before Geku, you will see a shop. For those who are familiar with Ise, it may be easier to understand that it is right next to the famous Western restaurant Bon Vivant.

There is a signboard in front of the store, so please look for it.

This is the exterior of the store. It is located in a corner of the former Yamada Post Office telephone branch of the Ministry of Communications. It has a very calm atmosphere and is the perfect place to take a rest while visiting Ise. I visited before the store opened, and there were already customers lining up. I can see the expectations for the store.

Now let's take a look inside the store. The interior of the store is warmly lit and has no excessive decorations, making it simple and neat. Dandelion Chocolate has been a hot topic in the media, but it was originally founded in 2011 and is a shop that originated in San Francisco. We make our own chocolate by purchasing cacao beans, roasting them, and molding them in-house. It's called "Bean to Bar," and you can see the store's approach to creating satisfying products from cacao beans to chocolate.

Chocolate bars, synonymous with Dandelion Chocolate, are lined up. Three types are made in San Francisco and three types are made in Kuramae, Tokyo. Products vary depending on where the cocoa beans are produced. I sampled the chocolate bars, but the percentage of cacao beans varies depending on the chocolate bar. Chocolate bars made with 70% cocoa beans are made in Ambanja, Madagascar, and 85% are made in Cocoa Kamiri, Tanzania. All of the six types were refreshing to eat, without the harshness peculiar to cacao beans, and I was surprised by the taste, which was different from what I had imagined.

Generally sold chocolates with a high percentage of cocoa beans have a feeling that lingers in your throat, but Dandelion Chocolate's chocolate bar does not have that feeling. When I sampled all six types of cacao beans, I found that depending on the type of cacao bean, there is a pleasant aroma that makes you feel like you are eating berry fruits, and the natural richness of cacao beans spreads in your mouth. 85% of the chocolate is made at San Juan Estate in Trinidad and goes well with alcohol. Carefully selected cacao beans are roasted at low temperatures and made using a careful manufacturing process, resulting in delicious food. By the way, the ingredients are really simple, just cacao beans and organic cane sugar.

There is also a full cafe menu, and you can order at the counter.

There are menu items using chocolate such as brownie bite flights, chocolate puffs, and chocolate brownies.

This is the cafe space, and there is a tatami mat in the middle where you can sit and relax. They plan to hold events in the future and will use this space.

You can enjoy hot chocolate ordered at the shop, brownie bite flights, dulce de leche bars, etc. in the cafe space. Please enjoy the aroma of hot chocolate at our store.

This is the drink menu. "ISE HOT CHOCOLATE" is a menu item that uses roasted green tea grown in Nakamori WataraiTown-cho, Mie Prefecture, and is a product exclusive to Ise. European hot chocolate is a refreshing drink during the winter months, with a rich, dark chocolate flavor.

This product is a collaboration between Dandelion Chocolate and SUEKI CERAMICS ceramics from Otani ware in Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture. The cup is designed to make it easy to drink hot chocolate, and the Dandelion logo is hand-written on the bottom.

Collaboration with Ise-Momen! This is a small fold made in collaboration with SOU・SOU. This bag is made from Ise-Momen produced in Tsu City, TsuCity Prefecture, and can be used not only for Japanese clothing but also for everyday use. The patchwork pattern is original to Dandelion Chocolate, which is also used in chocolate bars.

Why was the second store opened in front of IseJingu Geku? That's why I asked Seiji Horibuchi, CEO of Dandelion Chocolate. It all started when he met the production staff for the IseJingu documentary film ``Umiyama Hida,'' and they decided to open a store in front of Geku of IseJingu. He has been coming to Ise for about 20 years, but the reason he decided to open a store was because of the connections he made with people, saying, ``I was led to IseJingu.'' It was very impressive to hear that the store is not only about business, but also about the community and will continue to operate the store.

Customers were coming into the store one after another, and the staff were also working efficiently.

Please come and visit this new spot that has opened in front of Geku of IseJingu!

Dandelion Chocolate Geku Umiyama Hida Musée
Click here for the map (spot information)

Address: 20-24 Honmachi, Ise City IseCity
Public transportation access: About 5 minutes walk from JR/Kintetsu IseCity Station
Car access: Approximately 15 minutes from Ise Nishi Interchange
Business hours: 10:00-17:00 (last order 16:30) *Varies depending on the season
Phone number: 0596-63-6631
Products for sale
Chocolate bars 6 types 1,200 yen each (excluding tax)
European hot chocolate 530 yen (excluding tax)
Brownie bite flight 630 yen (excluding tax)
*Information as of December 2016