"It's actually really good!"
This phrase is heard over and over again in the shop. In fact, we've overheard it so much through the years, we've even caught ourselves saying it unwillingly. We kinda hate it, because it goes with the presumption that you've already discussed that "it"—whether it's an ice cream flavor or party or whatever—is not going to be good.
The flavor that sparks the most customers to utter "It's actually really good!" is Candy Cap, a flavor made with…delicious little mushrooms.
First some background: Porcini mushroom ice cream is one of the only flavor failures Jake will readily admit. It tasted OK, but it was just too earthy, and sadly, there was not a market for dirt ice cream. At least not yet.
But right when we were ready to write off mushroom ice cream, we stumbled upon a wonderful species called candy cap mushrooms.
A local mushroom vendor, Far West Fungi, approached us about doing a mushroom flavor. At first we were pretty skeptical, and at second, we were still skeptical. But when they finally coaxed us to visit their shop at the Ferry Building, they opened a jar of dried candy caps. They smelled like the best maple syrup ever. We were sold.
We soon learned that nothing else on earth tastes like candy cap mushrooms. They carry the earthy taste associated with mushrooms, but unlike in the failed porcini experiment, candy caps deliver their own dimension of sweetness to the ice cream. Guests have said it tastes like waffles, pancakes, cinnamon buns, celery root, etc.
Way more than just a novelty flavor, it's become one of our most popular flavors—it even got us on the television screen once or twice.
Fun Fact: To start selling this flavor, we had to make some adjustments to the branding. We couldn't sell a lick when we called it "Candy Cap Mushroom"—apparently people get scared of mushroom ice cream? So we now list it as "Candy Cap (taste it first and then we'll tell you)." As soon as they put it in their mouth, out comes the phrase "it's actually really good."
