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Collection by Diana Budds
Editor’s Pick

A Chocolate Bar that Tastes as Good as it Looks

When it comes to confections, packaging often gets the high design treatment. But what about the treat itself? Dandelion, a San Francisco–based purveyor of ethically sourced chocolate, teamed up with Snarkitecture to create the Break Bar to remedy that. (Queue the sugar rush.)

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The Break Bar, a collaboration between Dandelion Chocolate and Snarkitecture, came about when Cool Hunting sought to create an unexpected connection between design, food, and culture. “Dandelion makes some of our favorite chocolate. Snarkitecture continues to shake up the art and design world," stated Evan Orensten, Cool Hunting's co-founder and self-professed chocoholic, in a news release. "We wondered what kind of magic could be made if they met?” The chocolate is made out of cocoa beans sourced from South America. "Maya Mountain Cacao ferments and dries beans purchased from over 200 small farmers in Southern Belize," says Dandelion's Jennifer Roy. "This batch detects a green grape start before the signature notes of pineapple and honey, followed by a slightly tangy finish."
The Break Bar, a collaboration between Dandelion Chocolate and Snarkitecture, came about when Cool Hunting sought to create an unexpected connection between design, food, and culture. “Dandelion makes some of our favorite chocolate. Snarkitecture continues to shake up the art and design world," stated Evan Orensten, Cool Hunting's co-founder and self-professed chocoholic, in a news release. "We wondered what kind of magic could be made if they met?” The chocolate is made out of cocoa beans sourced from South America. "Maya Mountain Cacao ferments and dries beans purchased from over 200 small farmers in Southern Belize," says Dandelion's Jennifer Roy. "This batch detects a green grape start before the signature notes of pineapple and honey, followed by a slightly tangy finish."
While architecture and chocolate seem like an unliekly pairing, it was a natural exploration for Snarkitecture. "Much of our work looks to existing, familiar architecture or objects and explores ways to alter or reimagine their material to create something new and unexpected," the firm says. "Given the chance to work with Dandelion and use chocolate as a material was a completely new opportunity for us. The design we developed creates an element of surprise while referencing the preexisting proportions of Dandelion's standard chocolate bar. When you unwrap the bar, a fracture running around its edge is revealed. When pulled apart along this fracture, two perfectly opposite landscapes come into view. This break at the edge and the excavated surface texture of the two halves play on the idea of a 'broken' object that is, in fact, completely functional, and, in this case, also happens to be delicious."
While architecture and chocolate seem like an unliekly pairing, it was a natural exploration for Snarkitecture. "Much of our work looks to existing, familiar architecture or objects and explores ways to alter or reimagine their material to create something new and unexpected," the firm says. "Given the chance to work with Dandelion and use chocolate as a material was a completely new opportunity for us. The design we developed creates an element of surprise while referencing the preexisting proportions of Dandelion's standard chocolate bar. When you unwrap the bar, a fracture running around its edge is revealed. When pulled apart along this fracture, two perfectly opposite landscapes come into view. This break at the edge and the excavated surface texture of the two halves play on the idea of a 'broken' object that is, in fact, completely functional, and, in this case, also happens to be delicious."
Dandelion plans to produce about 500 of the limited-edition, six-ounce bars, which retail for $47 on dandelionchocolate.com. Proceeds benefit the non-profit arts organization Southern Exposure.
Dandelion plans to produce about 500 of the limited-edition, six-ounce bars, which retail for $47 on dandelionchocolate.com. Proceeds benefit the non-profit arts organization Southern Exposure.
In a Wonka-esque move, Dandelion is packaging five "white tickets" into the batch of 500 bars that can be redeemed for a non-edible sculpture that has the same form as the bar.
In a Wonka-esque move, Dandelion is packaging five "white tickets" into the batch of 500 bars that can be redeemed for a non-edible sculpture that has the same form as the bar.