A Tesla Engineer Just Helped Create the “Perfect Chocolate Chip”

These large, polygonal and single-origin "facets" will change your baking game

dandelion chocolate chips
These larger, hexagonal pieces aren't cheap, but they're an ideal shape for cookies
Dandelion

We need some hope during these uncertain times, and that hope arrives in the form of a … polygonal chocolate chip.

As designed by Tesla engineer Remy Labesque — along with Todd Masonis, CEO and cofounder of San Francisco’s Dandelion Chocolate — these “facets” are diamond-like, single-origin chocolate bites with “subtle floral and fruity notes more along the lines of third wave coffee than a Hershey’s Kiss,” according to Fast Company.

The duo, who met at a Chocolate 101 class years ago and stayed friends, utilized sketches and 3D-printed molds to test out flavors and shapes; the winning design “optimizes the surface area that strikes your tongue, with two of its edges tapered so that they melt instantly.” More importantly for the company, the new design can be mass produced.

Labesque describes the chips on Dandelion’s blog:

The shape of our chip is faceted: The edges of a Dandelion Chocolate chip taper to thin-as-we could-make-’em without compromising structure. This is because the thermal mass of a thin piece of chocolate melts more quickly on the palate. So when you put a Dandelion chip on your tongue, the thin, chiseled edges warm-to-melt nearly instantly. The 3D shape, while simple, we believe is also novel. And this is noteworthy because the world of industrial design is running out of simple forms that haven’t been claimed for something already. Beyond that we’re proud to have optimized the chocolate chip eating experience as a result of rethinking the humble shape itself.

“We had multiple goals: to melt [on your tongue] but hold up as pretty big chunks in our chocolate chip cookies,” as Masonis adds. “And also having our own unique design and personality—we wanted that to shine.”

These new chips, released in different variations by country of origin, retail for a whopping $30-$100 (which makes two batches of cookies).

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