Mmmm, Want to Smell Chocolate? There's a Map for That

That sweet chocolate scent that wafts through the air near the Chicago River (the river you shouldn’t ever, ever swim in)? You can thank the Blommer Chocolate Factory, North America’s largest cocoa-processing plant.

Chicago winds can push the chocolatey air — reminiscent of brownies baking or hot chocolate, according to some — into different parts of the city. So, if you want to catch a delightful whiff, you might check the Daily Chicago Chocolate Smell Map created by Ian Petchenik.

Petchenik is a 29-year-old Edgewater resident who made the map as a joke among friends, according to DNAinfo Chicago.

“After the first day it picked up speed, and I thought, ‘People are really into this, I guess we’ll keep doing it,’” said Petchenik, who blogs at Petchmo.com.

Petchenik’s Google map, created on Oct. 1, relies on crowdsourced reports, wind direction, wind speed and historical reports to plot the Blommer scent trail. Half a dozen people a day send him “smell reports.”

“I think a lot of people got into it because it’s something that they experience every day, but no one has ever said where [exactly] you can smell the chocolate,” Petchenik told DNAinfo.

» submit a report to the Chocolate Smell Map

» follow ChiCocoaSmell on Twitter