The Godfather Behind the Bay Area’s Vegan Chocolate Scene | Eater SF

"Founded by Daniel Korson after years of experimenting in a tiny San Francisco apartment and sparked by an encounter with the raw cacao pod while working in a Cafe Gratitude commissary kitchen, Coracao Chocolate grew into one of the Bay Area’s pioneering plant‑based chocolatiers. Korson set out to make confections for everyone regardless of allergies or dietary restrictions, avoiding refined sugar, milk, butter, processed milk powder, soy lecithin and other common fillers; early products were dark (mostly 80 percent or darker) and sometimes criticized as "grainy" compared with processed sweets, though that perception has changed. The company got an early boost from a Whole Foods Local Producer loan and sold bars in little candy cases across Northern California Whole Foods bakery departments before investing in packaging and expanding from Oakland to a Richmond factory. Signature items include Coconut Almond Dreams, a riff on an Almond Joy that earned praise from Michael Pollan, and the brand has navigated shifting language around "vegan," "plant‑based," and "dairy‑free" as it brings slightly sweeter chocolates into its historically dark lineup." - Paolo Bicchieri