In Pilsen, Sleep Walk Chocolateria Presents a Rich and Decadent Story Powered by Tradition | Eater Chicago
"For Día de Muertos, an ofrenda recounts the memories of deceased loved ones of the employees: “Día de los Muertos is mostly a journey for elder ones that are no longer with us; to keep their memories alive,” says Jorge Fierros, the chocolate program manager. “The fact that we remember them every year — that keeps their essence alive,” he says. “The meat, the food, every kind of taste that they loved during their time with us — we bring that up to them on the altar every year for them to come back to us and for them to say to us, and us to say to them, ‘I still remember you, I’m still with you.’” The ofrenda is filled with photos, prayer candles, and the beloved snacks of ancestors passed on: Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, a huge concha, pulparindos (tamarind candies), and chocolate, and a copy of Popol Vuh, a text often referred to as “the Mayan Bible,” is prominently displayed next to bars of the shop’s award-winning chocolate. The Popol Vuh’s role on the altar underscores the chocolateria’s effort to honor Indigenous histories: the text, written during the beginning of the Spanish conquest to preserve Indigenous culture, contains numerous mentions of cacao and even instructs readers in one passage to drink cacao in honor of Hun Hunahpu. On identity and sourcing, Aaron Campos, director of operations at Dark Matter Coffee, explains the origins-focused approach: “When we started [Dark Matter], it was important for us to focus on El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala… places where the coffee is delicious and amazing, and usually has a lot of rich, complex, and vibrant acidity,” he says. “It’s an identity of flavor, which is really special.” The operation sources cacao directly from Mexican farmers—currently from Chiapas and Tabasco, buying from the Broca family in Comalcalco, Margarito Sanchez, and the Agrofloresta Cacao Comunitario collective—and plans to work with Guatemalan producers who invested land in the valley to grow cacao alongside coffee. Production details are specific and hands-on: large bags of beans from Mexico are cut open, roasted, cleaned with husk separated from the flesh (the husk used for compost), then ground into a paste, tempered into bars, and sometimes mixed with coffee, chiles, or marigold flowers. Early training and partnerships are part of the story: a trip to Mexico City introduced the founder to the La Rifa family farm, whose cacao orders helped keep them afloat during the pandemic and whose artisans trained staff in chocolate-making. The chocolatiers began with traditional two-ingredient bars (cacao and sugar) and expanded into bars infused with mezcal and tequila, beans fermented in whiskey barrels, a bar filled with spicy mole, and one called Aztec with amaranth seeds and marigolds; as Fierros notes, “Everything is natural spices... different kinds of chiles from Mexico like Oaxaca pasilla, chile ancho, guajillo flake, cayenne pepper, Mexican cinnamon, Mexican vanilla.” Drinking chocolate is central: they offer a picante flavor with cayenne (the traditional Mexican way), and use a molinillo — “The molinillo is quite an ancient tool used by artisans from Mexico. In Mexico, they even use huge ones, to mix up for massive production of drinking chocolate,” says Fierros — with the shop’s molinillos handmade by Arteollin Alonso, a family company five generations old. Fierros, who arrived in the U.S. 24 years ago and previously worked as a truck driver, bartender, and in steel mills, finds his past useful in chocolate-making: “By turning liquids into solids and vice versa, working in steel has helped, because you have to temper steel, and you also have to temper chocolate to create a good bar so it’ll preserve,” Fierros says. Visual and mythic elements reinforce Indigenous influences — jaguar paintings and Mayan iconography that speak to crossing between worlds — and Fierros insists these references are substantive: “This is our heritage.” The shop also collaborates on chocolate-infused alcoholic beverages with Revolution Brewery, Half Acre, and 18th Street Distillery and has a partnership with chef Rick Bayless. Ethically, the team emphasizes direct relationships and fair pricing: “Coffee is like the second most traded commodity in the world besides oil in the world, so there’s a lot of money in it, and when there’s a lot of money in something, I feel like it’s constantly a minefield to understand who your supplier is and how it’s being cultivated,” says Campos, adding that politics and climate must be considered; “It’s been way more comfortable for us to be able to work with people directly, to set prices that work for both parties, to grow together, and to exchange ideas.” In sum, the operation positions itself as a maker of award-recognized chocolate that combines direct farmer relationships, traditional techniques and tools, region-specific ingredients and flavors, and a conscious effort to honor and preserve Indigenous cacao knowledge and cultural memory." - Nylah Iqbal Muhammad
