Store: Kakao

Last month I ran across kakáo (pronounced kuh-key-oh) while on a walk in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle. I saw the sign in the window and felt compelled to check it out. I'm glad I did.

kakáo is a combination chocolate and coffee shop, with lots of bright, open space in which to hang out. In this converted warehouse, under 15' high wooden ceilings, they have ten tables with chairs, two loveseats, two lounge chairs, free Wi-Fi for internet access (wireless network 415: just ask them for the password), and lots of outlets around the walls and windows (to power your laptop, etc).

chocolate store	kakáo
website	http://www.kakaoseattle.com/
address	415 Westlake Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98109 United States
phone	(206) 388-5467
hours	Mon-Fri	7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
	Sat	8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
online shopping	no
shipping area	N/A
warm weather shipping	N/A
chocolate makers	Amedei Michel Cluizel Claudio Corallo Dagoba Fran's Green and Black's Guittard Kallari Komforte Lindt Madécasse Moonstruck François Pralus Republica del Cacao Scharffen Berger Taza Theo Valrhona Vosges
special deals & events	free Wi-Fi
last updated	February 24, 2012

With more than 50 different chocolate bars of more than a dozen different brands, kakáo has the second largest collection of quality chocolate in Seattle (including some not available at Chocolopolis).

At the espresso bar, they serve Valrhona Celaya drinking chocolate in addition to more traditional drip coffee and espresso. Their coffee is from local Seattle green coffee maker Herkimer. A small collection of pastries is also available.

The shop is officially open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but a barista let me know that they are usually open by 7:15 a.m. Their website is only a placeholder at present, but the owner, J.B., intends to add content and perhaps eventually sell chocolate online (I'll let you know if he does!)

kakáo has a side room that holds up to twenty people that is available for free, and can even be reserved. They also have a huge venue space for rent in back that has a capacity of 300 people (200 for a seated event). Call and talk to Jim if you're interested in more information about their venue space.

Store: Chocolopolis

As you've no doubt read in previous postings, Chocolopolis was the store that introduced me to artisan chocolate and inspired me to create this blog. The owner, Lauren Adler, is not only an enthusiastic and educated chocophile, but also extremely generous and interested in sharing her passion for chocolate. All of the staff that I've met at the store in Seattle have been friendly and helpful, providing information for the novice and expert alike. At the same time, when they haven't known something, they admitted it and offered to try to find out.

Chocolopolis has many events, including weekly happy hours during which you can taste chocolate for free. They also have a frequent bar club, in which you receive one bar free for every 10 different chocolate bars you buy.

chocolate store	Chocolopolis
website	http://www.chocolopolis.com
address	1527 Queen Anne Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98109 United States
phone	(206) 282-0776
hours	Mon-Wed	11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
	Thu-Sat	11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
	Sun	11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
online shopping	yes, click here
shipping area	continental United States click here for more information
warm weather shipping	yes, with gel packs
chocolate makers	Amano Amedei Askinosie Bonnat El Ceibo Michel Cluizel Coppeneur Claudio Corallo Dandelion Domori Escazú Fearless Fine & Raw Fresco Grenada E. Guittard Kallari Lillie Belle Farms Madécasse Chocolat Moderne Moonstruck Olive & Sinclair Original Beans Pacari Patric François Pralus Republica del Cacao El Rey Ritual Rogue Santander Snake & Butterfly Taza Theo Valrhona Venchi Waialua Estate
special deals & events	frequent bar club weekly happy hours tasting events
last updated	Febrary 24, 2012

In addition to stocking over 200 different chocolate bars, Chocolopolis carries a variety of chocolate truffles by multiple chocolatiers and several other items for chocolate lovers (drinking chocolate, books, gifts, etc.)

Chocolopolis also opened a temporary second store at the Bravern in Bellevue for the winter holidays, but it is still open.
  Address:
     700 110th Ave. NE, Suite 192,
     Bellevue, WA 98004
  Phone: (425) 453-0776
UPDATE: The last day the store at the Bravern will be open is April 30th.

Review: Republica del Cacao Manabi

Lindy's Rating: 6.0 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 6.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Republica del Cacao bar Manabi region Ecuador plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 50g ~ 1.8oz cocoa solids 75% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color dark brown PANTONE 19-1314 Seal Brown texture smooth with text imprints and scoring aroma fig, mint, spice, hint of earthy snap medium hard taste fig, sweet, prune, hint of date melt smooth length minimal-short finish slightly ashy, slightly acidic

Republica del Cacao is the chocolate maker whose Los Rios bar generated strong reactions in our December blind chocolate tasting. Their Manabi bar is a regional chocolate made from cacao beans of the Manabi province of Ecuador.

This 50 gram Manabi bar had text imprints and was scored into 4 large pieces (as shown above). The color was an interesting dark brown. Under a combination of natural and fluorescent light, it most closely matched Seal Brown (PANTONE 19-1314) and was the first chocolate we've reviewed to do so.

The aroma of this chocolate was less pronounced that others we've reviewed. Fig was the most noticeable scent, followed by mint, spice, and a hint of earthiness. The snap was medium hard.

Republica's Manabi had a complex dried fruit taste that was predominantly fig, but also contained suggestions of prune, date, and others. There was also a sweet flavor, but neither of us were able to conclusively identify it.

The melt was smooth, and the post-chocolate flavor lasted 5 seconds, right at the border between minimal and short. The finish seemed ashy to Lindy and slightly acidic to me.

Overall, we both liked this bar better than Los Rios, and rated it **.

I've tasted three Ecuador chocolates so far (two of which are reviewed on this blog), and find myself somewhat disappointed. Despite the fame of Ecuador's Arriba cacao, I generally much prefer chocolates from Venezuela and Madagascar. However, we will review other chocolate makers and chocolates from Ecuador and hopefully find an outstanding chocolate from that region. All our reviews of Ecuador chocolates can be found here or by clicking on the Ecuador link under the Labels section in the right column or the end of this post.

Manabi is available online at Chocolopolis for $3.99.

Review: Republica del Cacao Los Rios

Lindy's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Republica del Cacao bar Los Rios region Ecuador plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with text imprints and scoring aroma mint, coffee snap hard taste very strong fig, hints of allspice and musty melt smooth length short finish slightly acidic

The Republica del Cacao Los Rios bar drew strong reactions at the recent blind chocolate tasting. Two people loved the intense fig flavor of this chocolate, rating it **** and ranking it as their favorite, and two people hated it, rating it *, ranking it last, and remarking that it was the only bar they disliked.

Los Rios is made from Arriba cacao beans from the Los Rios province of Ecuador. Unfortunately, Arriba and Nacional are not always meaningful when applied to Ecuador cacao beans. Although both names have good reputations as quality cacao beans, there does not appear to be any control on their usage. Also, for its greater productivity, more and more Forastero cacao is being farmed in Ecuador and mixed with the Nacional cacao. Please see my discussion of cacao trees for more information about cacao varieties.

This chocolate had an unusual mint aroma with a suggestion of coffee. Similarly distinctive was its very strong fig taste, the flavor of which dominated this bar. Some people noticed hints of allspice and musty, and one person detected bourbon. However, it was the overwhelming fig flavor that was the focus of discussion about this bar.

All in all, an interesting and perhaps unique chocolate. We'll have to try some other Ecuador chocolates in the future for comparison.

Unfortunately, we did not take an opportunity to photograph the opened chocolate bars at the tasting, so I only have a picture of the wrapper.

Blind Chocolate Tasting Results

Yesterday evening's blind chocolate tasting was a success. The group was made up of six first-time chocolate tasters and Lindy and me. Unfortunately, one person had an upset stomach and did not participate, so only seven of us tasted.

We reviewed seven bars from different regions around the world, with no one other than me having any information beyond that of the chocolate maker of some of the bars due to imprints.

The seven bars we tasted (in order of overal average rating):

Chocolate Bar	Region	Cocoa Solids	average rating
Michel Cluizel Maralumi	Papua New Guinea	64%	3.4
Valrhona Ampamakia	Madagascar	64%	2.9
Valrhona Gran Couva	Trinidad	64%	2.8
Valrhona Palmira	Venezuela	64%	2.6
Republica del Cacao Los Rios	Ecuador	75%	2.3
Theo Costa Rica	Costa Rica	91%	2.1
Francois Pralus Ghana	Ghana	75%	1.9

The Republica del Cacao Los Rios bar was particularly notable, generating strong reactions to its intense fig flavor. A few people thought it must be a flavored chocolate, even though it is not. Two people gave it the top rating of **** and two gave it the lowest rating of *.

The winner of the tasting, though, was clearly the Michel Cluizel Maralumi 64%. It was liked consistently by everyone. Every rating was either *** or ****, and everyone ranked it first or second among the bars we tasted.

I will add links in the above table to individual reviews as I post them over the next several days.

All in all, everyone seemed to have a good time and enjoy themselves. One person was amused that he wasn't noticing most of the specific aromas and flavors that others were, and instead focused on comparing differences in intensity of sweetness, bitterness, and richness. Many thanks to Phillip and Chris for organizing and hosting this event!

However, two improvements for any future tastings will be to review fewer chocolates, perhaps 4, and to start earlier. We started around 6:30 p.m., and because no one had eaten since lunch (to have a clean palate for the tasting), by the time we reached the 6th chocolate bar about 2 hours later, most people were ready to eat dinner. The bits of bread and water between chocolates were not substantial enough after so much time since a meal.