Paula's Notes: 
Think ALMOND ROCA. Don’t know what Almond Roca is? Well, then it’s worth a visit to find out!
Almond Roca is to Tacoma what Ghiradelli is to San Francisco. Created in 1923, it’s a confection that tantalizes with a buttery hard toffee center, coated in milk chocolate, rolled in chopped almonds and individually wrapped in shiny gold foil. Once the winking foil wrapper is removed, while it might not be an attractive confection to behold, pop that puppy in your mouth and you will experience a luscious taste of Tacoma. This candy has some significant notoriety too! Massive quantities were shipped to the troops during World War II. Because it’s sealed in an air-tight, nitrogen flushed tin, it traveled well and stayed fresh. It also made its way atop Mt. Everest with famed climber Sir Edmund Hillary. Almond Roca isn’t the only tasty tidbit created at Brown & Haley. They also make Mountain Bars - literally, a mountain of chocolate and nuts hiding your choice of three centers – peanut butter (ummmm…YUM!), cherry and vanilla.
Sitting pretty a stone’s throw from Brown & Haley’s factory location is a round pink building that looks like a candy tin. This Tacoma landmark is their retail outlet! There you’ll find a plethora of goodies from which to choose – the original recipe Almond Roca, Mocha Roca, Candy Cane Roca, Cashew Roca, Peanut Roca (take an insider’s suggestion…stick with the original recipe) and Mountain Bars galore. Pick some up for yourself, friends or ship to family to share a taste of Tacoma’s claim to fame.
Should you find yourself in the industrial area of Fife, Brown & Haley also operates an outlet there too. Not nearly as fun as a visit to the pink candy tin building though!