Exploring The Santa Fe Chocolate Trail
Kakawa, Todo Santos, The Chocolate Smith and CG Higgens Confections
Theobroma means “Food of the Gods”, some would say it’s aptly named. Santa Fe has four small chocolatiers each with a unique take on this heavenly treat. When you taste their creations, it is clear that they all have one thing in common, a love of this magical bean. Recently, they have banded together to promote the Santa Fe chocolate industry and each other with a campaign called The Santa Fe Chocolate Trail.
Kakawa Chocolate House
Probably the most unique chocolatier in town is Kakawa Chocolate House on Paseo de Peralta in the historic area of town. Their name comes from the Aztec word for chocolate. The shop is dedicated to the ancient art of chocolate.
Theobroma cacao, the plant that gives us the chocolate bean is indigenous to Mexico and Central America. The peoples of Mexico and Central American were consuming chocolate millennia ago. They considered it sacred, using it for drinks (elixirs) that were consumed by the upper classes. It was believed that chocolate had extraordinary powers; that bestowed health and wisdom. It was also thought to be an aphrodisiac. The conquering Europeans brought this gift home and European-style concoctions were born.
Kakawa offers twenty-five elixirs, about evenly split between pre-Columbian and European recipes. The Mesoamerican-style is infused with native herbs or their modern equivalents, mostly made with water and mostly unsweetened. The European varieties are use sweeteners. Kakawa avoids sugar, substituting honey and agave syrup
Kakawa also offers a selection of hand-rolled, hand-dipped truffles made in-house. There are five top-sellers that are always in the display-case and about fifteen more on rotation. They also sell elixirs to go. All the ingredients are added and made into solid wafers. Customers can recreate these unusual drinks at home. Kakawa also offers a selection of flour-free and gluten-free pastries, including flourless chocolate cake and decadent brownies also sweetened with honey and agave.
Todos Santos
Walking into Todos Santos, a minute shop tucked into a corner of the courtyard in historic Sena Plaza a block from the Plaza, feels like you have gone south of the border. The décor is funky Mexican from the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) heads to the Mexican cut paper decorations to the flowering over-head branches dripping with kitsch for sale. Owner Hayward Simoneaux got into the chocolate business via an unusual hobby, he collected vintage chocolate molds. He decided he wanted to know how to use them and took a course in making molded chocolates. He incorporated the gold and silver leaf technique he learned as a picture-framer and started making edible gold and silver leaf covered milagros (Mexican symbols used by people praying for miracles). The toffees, a signature chocolate bar and nut clusters are also made in-house
The shop, open for ten years also sells marzipan, nougats, hard-candies, caramels and more sourced from France, Italy, Belgium and confections from small artisanal producers from around the US. Hours are roughly 10-6, Sunday by chance, but if the spirit moves him, Hayward may lock the door and take off.
Chocolate Smith
Chocolate Smith is located on Cerrillos Road a few doors down from Whole Foods. This modern, antiseptically clean shop, featured on the Food Networks Road Food with the Neelys, has an unusual specialty, chocolate pâté. A ganache is made, shaped, chilled and then hand-dipped ten times in the same European-style wax that coast Gouda cheese. Red and green chile shapes are a staple and there are seasonal themes for holidays.
Owner Jeff Keenan says that what makes Chocolate Smith really unique is that they buy as much of their ingredients as they can locally. They use New Mexico chiles, pistachios and lavender in their creations.
They have about fifty offerings in the store’s display-case. The most popular items are green chile pistachio bars and sea salt caramels. A popular item is the white chocolate lemon-lavender-tamari-roasted almond bark. It is addictive.
Jeff, a former manager at Trader Joe’s, has a business degree that he puts to good use at Chocolate Smith. His wife Kari, with a passion for food and chocolate is on the creative side of the counter, creating new treats to add to the line. They are a well-balanced team. Business is good. Jeff says that the current economic situation is good for the chocolate business and being on TV was a great help. People who saw the show come to town and look for them. He says a chocolate-fix makes you feel good and is cheaper than a Prada bag (and healthier, too).
CG Higgins Confectioners
You have to really want to find CG Higgins Confectioners. It’s at the intersection of St. Francis Drive and tiny Ninita Street and you can easily drive right by. Ever since the shop was featured on Road Food with the Neelys (same episode as Chocolate Smith) people go out of their way to get there. The business was originally called Chuck’s Nuts after owner Chuck Higgins, he changed it in 2007 to better reflect his new direction, candy making. Besides chocolates he makes caramel corn, fudge and brittles.
His hand-rolled hand-dipped truffles are made from French Chocolate and have unique fillings; two top-sellers: raspberry cardamom and Vietnamese cinnamon. His chile chocolates combine the red and green varieties in the same confection. He feels this creates a greater depth of flavor. His best sellers are the truffles, but Chuck says he makes the best brittles in North America. He attributes this to the altitude (baking soda reacts differently at 7,000 feet), the dry climate and the small production batches done by hand. Coming soon, chocolate dipped brittles.
If you love chocolates and you live in or visit The City Different, check out The Santa Fe Chocolate Trail and have a taste of the Food of the Gods.
Kakawa Chocolate House 1050 Paseo De Peralta (505) 982-0388
Todos Santos 125 E Palace Ave (505) 982-3855
Chocolate Smith 851 Cerrillos Rd (505) 473-2111
CG Higgins Confections 847 Ninita Street (505) 820-1315
Chocolate Muerto at Todos Santos
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