Kakawa Chocolate House
Chocolate shop · Santa Fe ·
Artisanal chocolate shop with historically based drinking chocolate elixirs
Artisanal chocolate shop with historically based drinking chocolate elixirs
"Indulgence takes the form of decadent drinking chocolate elixirs here, drawn from pre- and post-Columbian chocolate traditions." - Zoe Baillargeon Zoe Baillargeon Zoe Baillargeon is a freelance writer and creative copywriter who specializes in travel, tourism, and food journalism. Her work has appeared in publications including National Geographic, Vogue, and Wine Enthusiast. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
"This quiet alternative to a coffeehouse provides a wide selection of hot brews inspired by chocolate traditions from around the world. For those averse to sugar, the small but intense Aztec Warrior elixir — an unsweetened cup of chocolate mixed with chile, flowers, herbs, and nuts — is uniquely satisfying. But if you appreciate a sweet treat, there’s plenty more to drink, as well as a number of truffles, bars, caramels, and even chocolate-dipped chiles sold to go. Must-try dish: Get a flight to try a few elixirs at once and find your preferred blend." - Karen Fischer
"Willy Wonka has nothing on husband-and-wife team and Kakawa owners Bonnie and Tony Bennett. The duo packs their City Different display cases with goat cheese truffles and caramels infused with locally grown lavender. But this shop also celebrates the region’s long love affair with chocolate and chile—a pairing dating to the Aztec and Mayan civilizations in the Americas—with red-chile caramels and chile solid dark chocolates. It also bypasses traditional milk-based hot chocolates for potent chocolate elixirs, the favored drink of the pre-Columbian cultures who first championed culinary cacao. Diners sip these unsweetened drinks made with water, chocolate, herbs, nuts, spices, and chile in blue-and-white Mexican Talavera espresso cups in a quaint adobe just off Canyon Road and two other City Different locations." - Ashley M. Biggers
"This quiet alternative to a coffeehouse provides a wide selection of hot brews inspired by chocolate traditions from around the world. For those averse to sugar, the small but intense Aztec Warrior elixir — an unsweetened cup of chocolate mixed with chile, flowers, herbs, and nuts — is uniquely satisfying. But if you appreciate a sweet treat, there’s plenty more to drink, as well as a number of truffles, bars, caramels, and even chocolate-dipped chiles sold to go." - Willy Carleton, Justin De La Rosa, Karen Fischer
"A downtown chocolate shop known for inventive confections and a memorable chile-flavored cocoa that makes for a spicy-sweet mid-morning treat." - Rosecrans Baldwin Rosecrans Baldwin Rosecrans Baldwin is a Los Angeles Times best-selling author and essayist. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, Slate, Salon, GQ, and The Morning News, among other publications. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines