Time Machine

Drinking chocolates hint at history

Wrapping the hands around a hot mug and sipping a steaming brew has an obvious attraction. And, when the liquid is a velvety bath of handcrafted chocolate elixir rather than standard coffee fare, it's a decadent treat.

Kakawa Chocolate House (1050 Paseo de Peralta, 982-0388) might be a bit off the beaten path, yet the tiny building on the edge of a large state parking lot is seldom empty.

A display case full of shiny truffles and chocolate-coated caramels call to the senses with concoctions such as goat cheese and sage and basics like pecan clusters, brownies and ice cream. But the big attraction to the little house is the drinking chocolate.

The daily menu features a list of "elixirs" that sit in a row of motorized frothers, keeping the drinks hot and appropriately blended. Expect to sample them until you land on a winner: That's the philosophy for Tony Bennett and his wife Bonnie, who took over 8-year-old Kakawa about three years ago when Tony left the fashion industry in New York to join Bonnie, who had landed a job in Santa Fe.

He seems right at home serving up beverages and chatting with visitors who sit in pigskin chairs in two rooms of the old adobe. On each of three recent visits, I saw him delivering gratis gluten-free brownies, chocolate candies and a giant oatmeal cookie (this one to a young girl who had gulped her $3.75, 3-ounce elixir in two seconds flat and then asked her mother for another).

Elixirs, also served in a 6-ounce mug for $6.50, are a far cry from what passes as hot chocolate for many of us. Own up to the fact that you too have added water to an envelope of Swiss Miss. Then, let it go.

Kakawa's daily offerings include a rotating selection of eight hot chocolates, half European blends and half Mesoamerican.

"Drinking chocolate is not ingrained in our society, so even though it dates back thousands of years, people don't know what it is, so it's kind of a mystery," Bennett says. "We bring 'em in and we give them a taste of the American first, and then we explain what that is and then we explain that the European drinks are all a little sweeter, and the Mesoamerican are all made with 100 percent dark chocolates and they are a lot more intense."

You won't find any tiny floating dehydrated marshmallows here. Many elixirs are infused with ingredients such as chile that elevate them to complex time machines with flavor profiles tracing to certain figures or periods in history.

For example, when you sip an Aztec Warrior Elixir with nuts, spices and herbs, you're tasting something like the special drink of pre-Columbian societies. The Marie Antoinette, with its blend of cinnamon and orange blossoms, is as close to the preferred drink of the Queen of France as you can get in a modern kitchen, says chocolatier Bethany Orbison.

With so many Santa Fe visitors interested in history, it seems like a solid plan.

"Chocolate has been around for a long, long time," Orbison says. "The way that we are used to consuming it now has only really been 150 years, you know—candy bars, and dairy and sugar added to chocolate. So, it's sort of an interesting little peek into the thousands of years that it's been used. The Mayans and the Aztecs were using it for so long and then the Spanish and it went to France and beyond...it just shows people that there is more to chocolate than going to Walgreens and buying a Kit Kat."

Want to take this show on the road? Kakawa's proprietary method of preserving drinking chocolates in a paper sack could give you an edge when it comes to upcoming holiday gatherings: Warm your own almond milk or water on the stove, stir in a few tablespoons of chocolate granules and voila! All that's missing are Kakawa's signature blue and white ceramic mugs, and those, handmade for the store in Oaxaca, are for sale, too.

At a Glance Hours: 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday;
noon to 6 pm Sundays
Best Bet: Elixirs with chile warm you from the inside out

Letters to the Editor

Mail letters to PO Box 4910 Santa Fe, NM 87502 or email them to editor[at]sfreporter.com. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. Letters will be edited for space and clarity.

We also welcome you to follow SFR on social media (on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and comment there. You can also email specific staff members from our contact page.