Kahkow Culture

Dahlia and Bryan Graham of Fruition Chocolate talk to us about how they got into chocolate-making, as Maricel, Nadia & Daisy ask the burning questions. Fruition’s work begins by selecting ethically sourced and flavorful cacao, primarily from Central and South America – and this is essentially why our passions met! Maricel delves into the importance of Los Bejucos – one of our Denominations of Orig...

Alberto Simionato & the Rizek team continue this dialogue about emerging trends in the cacao & chocolate industry. We delve into the aspects of authenticity regarding chocolate makers and the cacao supply chain. Should our conception of quality change considering the nature of cacao as an agricultural product? – Tune in to learn about Alberto’s response. Don’t forget to follow us on social media,...

Our first episode in Italian! In this episode Max, Daisy & Alberto Fanton of Rizek Cacao, speak to Alberto Simionato - Chocolate Academy Director in Milan and Cacao Barry Chef. We hope you enjoy this interesting conversation about fermentation, education, our world-renowned single estate La Esmeralda & how we have been starting to reassess the concept of quality. If you’re interested in being a gu...

Part 2 with Daniel Korson, co-founder of Coracao Chocolate is here! He created one of the top-selling drinking chocolates in the US, and spoke to us about the motivations that lead him towards the 'natural' channels.⁠ A special thanks to Daniel for recognizing the value of our ingredients and the role we play in direct trade – “it’s not just about what we put into our creations, but also about wha...

Daniel Korson, co-founder of Coracao Chocolate, talks to us about the importance of transparency and trust in the cacao supply chain. As he creates one of the top-selling drinking chocolates in the US, he told us about the motivations that lead him towards the natural channels. Coracao has won Best Chocolatier in the Bay Area four times, has been featured on Fox News, ABC News, SF Weekly, Entrepre...

Kahkow lovers, Megan Giller of Chocolate Noise joins us for the second part of this chocolate conversation. Megan is also hosting online chocolate-tasting events, teaches classes at the Institute of Culinary Education and other locales, and judges at chocolate competitions. But wait, there’s more! We’ve created the following coupon code for you guys, we’re offering a 10% discount on all products a...

Megan Giller joins us on this week’s episode, where we talked about her book: Bean-to-Bar Chocolate: America’s Craft Chocolate Revolution. Her guided chocolate tastings have been featured in The New York Times in 2020, and her writing has been published in Slate, Zagat, and Food & Wine. Megan’s blog @chocolatenoise was a 2016 Saveur Food Blog Awards finalist. Megan is also hosting online chocolate...

On this episode we speak to Monica Rogan of @goodnowfarms. Her career in real estate development brought her to southern California, where while working on large-scale construction programs she discovered craft chocolate and began experimenting with the many possibilities of true, bean to bar chocolate making in her home kitchen. This husband & wife team has dedicated their work to exploring diffe...

One of our favorite guests yet! From efficiency in sourcing, not compromising quality & the appreciation of sourcing cacao from one country, to educating consumers on the fact that there are endless possibilities regarding flavor profiles, William Marx joins #kahkowculture to tell us about WM Chocolate’s story and how he made important changes to his sourcing model, which led him to Kahkow. Watch...

If there could be one word to describe this year, it would be resilience. Max & Daisy speak to Bill Guyton, FCIA’s Executive Director, about the ups and downs we’ve had as an industry regarding fine chocolate and cacao sourcing countries throughout the pandemic. FCIA members will receive a 15% discount on all products, including ingredients (beans, nibs, mass, powder & butter). Visit our online st...

Intriguing, mysterious, and completely fascinating. Where does Dominican cacao come from? How did it get to the island? Max & Elvi delve into the history of Dominican cacao, as we discuss genetic varieties and the famous classification that came from Juan Carlos Motamayor's research, thanks to whom we now have 11 distinctive genetic clusters.

Max tells us why we spilled rum (intentionally) in our post-harvest facility. Learn about the importance of traceability and how we keep track of metric tons of cacao. Elvi explains the efficiency in Rizek’s ‘lung’.

Yeasts, lactic bacteria, acetic bacteria, the role of oxygen…when does fermentation start & when does it end?

A sit down with 2 cacao gurus: Max Wax & Elvi Reyes, discussing the art of fermenting cacao in our post-harvest center, located in the heartland of Dominican cacao – San Francisco de Macorís.

Thanks to Michael Laiskonis, creator of the Chocolate Lab at New York City’s Institute of Culinary Education, for joining us on this episode where we discuss how the pandemic has impacted the way we do things in the Dominican Republic and in New York, and how we've been coping with new health protocols throughout our value chain.

Specialty coffee, craft beer, wine, denominations of origin & craft chocolate! Elaine, Max and Daisy tackle some of the myths and misconceptions in the cacao and chocolate industry. We delve into terroir, sustainability and we provide some tips on how we can determine quality from the labels in the chocolates we eat.

Max & Daisy talk about the cacao biomes and the juxtaposition of 3 profiles with the farms where the cacao comes from: Better Orange, West Indian and Añejo V.S.O.D. – Very Special Old Dark. Is there an impact on cacao flavor because of the fruits and trees that are also planted in these farms? Learn more about these ‘natural’ pairings, blessed by soil and the gift of knowledge.

Max, Nadia, Daisy & Damion talk about Single Origin cacao from the Dominican Republic & Rizek’s Single Estate chocolates: La Esmeralda, La Magdalena & Tireo – farms located in the Dominican cacao heartland.