Victoria Colliver, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, May 7, 2009
As moms Jean Hope (right) and Elizabeth Halter don their hats, C.J. Halter, 5, (in red) and Justin Hope, 4, get ready for the Jelly Belly tour. (Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle)
Ever wonder how the fortune gets inside a fortune cookie or how the Jelly Belly Candy Co. manages to capture the flavor of a pina colada in such a tiny bean? The Bay Area has an embarrassingly rich number of companies willing to show you how they do what they do, with freebies to boot. Most are kid-friendly, so you can pack both "fun" and "educational" into a day's outing. Here are just some of the company tours offered in the Bay Area:
Jelly Belly Candy Co. (Fairfield)
Find out why it takes more than a week to make a Jelly Belly bean in one of the most well known factory tours in the Bay Area.
Where: 1 Jelly Belly Lane in Fairfield.
What you can learn: That it can take as long as three weeks to make a Jelly Belly, depending on the flavor. Wild Blackberry and sour flavors take longer due to the curing of the natural ingredients.
Freebie: A 2-ounce bag of Jelly Belly beans. Free tastings also available.
Tour logistics: Reservations are not required for tours, which are held daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Candy-making machines are not in operation over the weekend, but the process is shown on video. Tours depart approximately every 15 minutes throughout the day and last about 40 minutes. While the typical wait is 15 minutes, it can be as long as 90 minutes during the summer and on school holidays.
Cost: Free. (Private tours, which include a walk-through of the factory floor, are available for groups of up to six. Cost is $47 a person).
For more information: Call (800) 953-5592. Visit www.jellybelly.com.
See the complete story at SFGate.com.
