Taste-bud Melting Cacao from Conscious Makers: A Guide to our Artisan Chocolate Collection
- Niikah Hatfield
- Oct 31
- 5 min read
Chocolate has been one of my deep loves for as long as I can remember. Delicate enjoyment of this incredible food led to research around agricultural practices of cacao farms during my college years, and later an intensive retreat on a cacao ranch in Costa Rica where I learned the process of crafting chocolate and ceremonial beverages.
As I've started to expand our offerings in the boutique, chocolates and cacao were one of the first things I was inspired to bring in. Not only did I want to offer some of the amazing, small crafted chocolates I've discovered over the past few years, but it also felt important to share the stories behind these makers. Each of the businesses we carry not only make products that are stunningly delicious, but they highlight intentional relationships with the farmers and give back to the people who have been stewarding this incredible medicine for thousands of years.
This guide shares a bit about the backstory of why I chose each maker in the shop, and some of what makes their goods so delectable.
Photo from Prophecy Chocolate
Dandelion Chocolate
Little did I know when I visited this chocolaterie in San Fransico on my travels a few years ago that I would end up sourcing these chocolates for our shop.
In searching for a US based company that made both incredible tasting dark chocolate bars and also upheld meaningful relationships with their farmers, Dandelion Chocolate came to the front of the line.
Their handmade paper covers and gold foil wrappers contain single origin chocolates from around the world, mixed only with organic cane sugar. Each bar takes you on a journey around the globe, where you can begin to discover the flavors specific to each region and farming practice of cacao.
Tasting chocolates becomes like sampling fine wines - you begin to notice that while they are all made from the same basic process, there is an incredible depth and range of notes within each region.
Dandelion Chocolate is transparent about their relationships with farmers from across the globe, and posts an annual report about each of their farming partnerships as part of their movement to craft single origin chocolates that support the small farmers of each region.
Caputo's Wild Cacao
It wasn't until I tried my first wild foraged chocolate that I realized I had stumbled upon an entirely different realm. Distinctly fruity, incredibly complex and rich with flaver, and yet still silky smooth, wild cacao is foraged directly from the jungle.
In a world where we continually move further away from foods that are linked to their original form, it is no wonder that this wild chocolate has such an impact. This is what cacao can be.
Caputo's is a company based out of Salt Lake, UT that crafts incredible bars of wildcrafted chocolate. What's more, each bar is part of a movement to protect the jungles where they are found.
Incredibly delicious, powerful activism.
Photo from Caputo's website
Prophecy Chocolate Ceremonial Cacao
Prophecy Chocolate was my first rich dive into the medicinal properties of cacao, and where I truly began to forge an energetic connection with this plant.
Made from raw cacao paste, ceremonial cacao is often made from the finest quality beans and heated to low temperatures to maintain it's most medicinal properties. Never mixed with cacao butters or sugar like many regular chocolate bars, this raw cacao is shaved into simmering water, mixed with spices, and served as a heart-opening drink.
Photo from Prophecy Chocolate
It's worth noting here that while cacao ceremonies have become popular in the US, that is actually an Americanized concept that never was part of the original traditions. The women in traditional families would hand down the knowledge of crafting the beverage that was served at family gatherings, over which stories would be told and deep connections would form. This is the true power of grandmother cacao, in her playful, pleasurable, joyful expression that draws people closer together. The more deep powers of the plant were reserved for shamans and medicine people, who only administered their secret formulas to those in deep need of the healing this plant provides.
Prophecy Chocolate is a small company based out of Vermont, where the owner Mateo has forged deep connection with indigenous farmers and traditional farming practices in Peru, and directly imports an ancient heirloom cacao variety known as Chuncho.
We carry their blocks of raw cacao paste, which can be used for daily ritual and shared gatherings with friends.
Photo from Prophecy Chocolate
Fossa Chocolate
It was a big decision to include Fossa in our line of chocolates at the shop, as they are the only company not based out of the US. But when you taste their bars, you'll understand why I had to include them.
Fossa is a small artisan chocolate maker out of Singapore that specializes in incredibly unique and profoundly amazing flavor profiles. Most notably, many of their chocolates are crafted in partnership with Pekoe & Imp, a rare tea curator that sources teas from distinct regions with a strong focus on artisanal craft.
Their Tea Chocolates boast some of the most rich flavor profiles that linger on the tongue just like your finest cup of jasmine green.
Photo from Fossa Chocolate
Fossa works with farmers that practice agroforestry, which is a way of growing cacao trees alongside other native plants far more sustainable and natural than big ag practices of monocropping. All of their bars are small batch creations that are worth setting aside time to experience.
i.e. Kawa
This list wouldn't be complete without i.e. Kawa, which is a small family business based out of our very own state of Michigan.
I met Lindsay and her family a handful of years ago at a local music festival, and instantly recognized the brand of Kawa that I had fallen in love with on one of my first trips to Costa Rica in 2022. We connected over a love for the warm, medicinal nature of cacao, and I've ended up making a couple batches of special cups for them to use in their cacao circles at festivals and retreats.
Photo from i.e. Kawa
i.e. Kawa is in direct partnership from the small farm where they source all of their cacao, including the incredibly unique and fruity Kawa Bars that are made from raw cacao sweetened with the cacao fruit rather than extra sugar. We also carry their Root to Rise, a coffee alternative that has dandelion, chicory, lions mane, cordyceps, and chaga mushrooms, and their Cacao Healthy Honey, which is an amazing blend of cacao, herbs, and medicinal mushrooms.
Chocolate Love, Forever
I imagine that this will only be the beginning of many more connections and makers over the years. Thank you for going a bit deeper with me as I share my love for this incredible plant.
For as wide-sourced as chocolate is in our culture, I think it is incredibly important to be conscious about the origins of it as the history of injustice with farmers is rampant and the threats of deforestation and big agriculture buying out small family farms continues to be a pressing issue.
I believe that there is a way to preserve the incredible legacy of cacao, and that begins with returning to the roots.
Thanks for joining me on the journey.
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