Kakawa: The Ultimate Chocolate Experience

First and foremost I wanted to thank you all on the positive response to my post about drinking.  I was nervous to post about something so controversial but it sounds like I’m not alone on my stance on alcohol.  Thanks for contributing your opinions 🙂

Anyways, remember way back when when I said I had one more Santa Fe food spot to review?  Well, you may have forgotten (and maybe I did too a little bit…) but my family did not. They’ve been badgering me about writing this post since we got back.  So without further adieu, I give you Kakawa.

(Source)

Kakawa is chocolate shop that specializes in chocolate elixirs, aka warm chocolate drinks that come in dozens of flavors and are all made of some really high quality chocolate.  Although the shop offers an assortment of chocolates and caramels, their elixirs are what they’re known for.

(Source)

I can’t decide which was better; the drinks or the owner, Peter.  He was so generous – I think he had me sample about 6 elixirs before I picked one to order (and that was before he knew I wanted to write about Kakawa!)  And besides being completely generous, he was also very passionate about chocolate. He said he was inspired to open Kakawa after reading about the history of chocolate and realizing that there was some really good stuff out there; stuff that was so much better than the chocolate candy we’re all so used to today.

It turns out drinking chocolate is a really old tradition.  And one I really wanted to be a part of

The elixirs come in a 6 oz. version.

(Source)

Or, for those of us with a dinner reservation in half an hour (and we did that day), there’s the 3 oz. version.

Not sure why my hair looked like that…

My dad got the Chocolate Chai Elixir, my sister and I shared the American Elixir and my mom got the Marie Antoinette Elixir, which took the cake.

I also sampled some cocoa nibs and two pieces of dark chocolate.  Really, it was dark. Like 100% and 85% chocolate dark.  Are you cringing while reading that?  Don’t, it was so smooth and not bitter at all.  I almost bought a piece, but my heart was set on some Marie Antoinette Elixir wafers.  Plus I left with a caramel for later, compliments of Peter.

Yes, that’s right, you can buy a chocolate wafer and make these drinks at home.  And I did just that.

Ignore that these dishes say ‘espresso’’ – there’s no coffee involved here.

One wafer makes one 6 oz. drink, so I cut one in half to make a drink for Joey as a mid-birthday treat

Kakawa makes their drinks with almond milk and encourages buyers to do the same.  No problem!

I wish I could transfer the fragrance of this drink through the screen.  This smelled so good.

I’m still holding on to that caramel.

Is that sea salt I sea see?  Peter knows the way to my heart.

Overall, I love what Kakawa is all about.  Good quality ingredients, a taste that’s phenomenal and a concept that’s unique.

And if this post wasn’t enough for your sweet tooth, I’ve got a super easy (and gluten-free to boot!) cookie recipe coming at you later this week.  Or is this another one of those times when I promise something and don’t give it to you till weeks later?  I guess you’ll just have to find out