New Chocolate Maker in SD

Tom F.

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
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Hello all.  I have learned about a new chocolate maker in Santo Domingo and wondered if anyone has tried them yet.  I discovered him on Facebook and unable to make a trip in the near future.  It looks like a very small operation (sort of what I do in the US) and really wondered if anyone has any feedback.  It is called Definite Chocolate.  Tom F.
 

Tom F.

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
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Let me try this again. Wondered if anyone has been tasting any good Dominican chocolate lately. Today I participated in a virtual tasting with four Dominican chocolate makers, the people who post harvest the wet cacao near Pimentel, and a few other people. Yes I had the chocolate mailed to me last week for the virtual tasting. Chin Chin Chocolate from Punta Cana, Khoa from SD, Choco Punto from La Romana and Definite from SD were involved. I have also been introduced to Mitz from Sosua but have not tasted them. They are basically the craft chocolate movement in the DR. It started with Diana Munne at Xocolat and the Rizek's which have Kahkow, and both from very established families in the DR. The new comers are Bulgarian, Venezuelan, Italian and German. They are all doing a fantastic job and moving the fine or craft chocolate in the DR to another level.

Has anyone tried any of their chocolate and what did you think?
 

franco1111

Bronze
May 29, 2013
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Gringo
For the average person here, there is zero visibility for Dominican chocolate. No marketing that I can see. None in stores where I go. If I saw it, I would buy it. I bring chocolate here every trip from the U.S. for me and my kids. Would prefer to buy local.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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Front Burner

Brooklyn Gets a Dominican Chocolate Shop​

Kahkow in Williamsburg is owned by Rizek Cacao from the Dominican Republic.




merlin_158389401_57a47729-4bcc-478d-ad67-61c1e90940ed-articleLarge.jpg

merlin_158389401_57a47729-4bcc-478d-ad67-61c1e90940ed-articleLarge.jpg

Credit...Emon Hassan for The New York Times
Florence Fabricant
By Florence Fabricant
  • July 29, 2019
Rizek Cacao, a chocolate grower, processor and exporter, was founded in the Dominican Republic in 1905 and is now being run by the fifth generation of the Rizek family. The company owns 25 farms on the island and contract with another 2,500 small farmers to whom they provide technical support through a nonprofit organization. Rizek processes cacao and sells wholesale to other chocolate companies. In 2007, it began making bars for the consumer market, sold only in the Dominican Republic, and now it has opened its first boutique abroad. At the shop and cafe in Brooklyn chocolate for cooks, finished bars, other ingredients, and some baked goods are sold, though Nadia Rizek, a family member, said the main purpose of the store was education. Soon the cafe expects to start roasting cacao on the premises.
Kahkow, 97 North 10th Street (Berry Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-387-1238, kahkow.com.
 
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Feb 7, 2007
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I have never seen Dominican chocolate in stores either. Iberia and Jumbo sell European Milka and some Spanish brands.
 

Tom F.

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
699
91
48
Front Burner

Brooklyn Gets a Dominican Chocolate Shop​

Kahkow in Williamsburg is owned by Rizek Cacao from the Dominican Republic.




merlin_158389401_57a47729-4bcc-478d-ad67-61c1e90940ed-articleLarge.jpg

merlin_158389401_57a47729-4bcc-478d-ad67-61c1e90940ed-articleLarge.jpg

Credit...Emon Hassan for The New York Times
Florence Fabricant
By Florence Fabricant
  • July 29, 2019
Rizek Cacao, a chocolate grower, processor and exporter, was founded in the Dominican Republic in 1905 and is now being run by the fifth generation of the Rizek family. The company owns 25 farms on the island and contract with another 2,500 small farmers to whom they provide technical support through a nonprofit organization. Rizek processes cacao and sells wholesale to other chocolate companies. In 2007, it began making bars for the consumer market, sold only in the Dominican Republic, and now it has opened its first boutique abroad. At the shop and cafe in Brooklyn chocolate for cooks, finished bars, other ingredients, and some baked goods are sold, though Nadia Rizek, a family member, said the main purpose of the store was education. Soon the cafe expects to start roasting cacao on the premises.
Kahkow, 97 North 10th Street (Berry Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-387-1238, kahkow.com.
Yes, I have been there a couple of times and know Nadia Rizek and Max Wax who are the principals there. The chocolate they make in Brooklyn is very good and would put them in the craft chocolate movement in the US. The chocolate produced in the DR by Kahkow (the Rizek family) is probably using the same cacao but the chocolate is slightly different. This may be because of the use of emulziphers and added vanilla. I think in Brooklyn it is either 2 ingredient chocolate (cacao and sugar) and maybe added cacao butter. I have bought Kawkow some 6-8 years ago at the Sendero de Cacao (outside of SFM). They also have a KahKow shop in one of the big malls in the Capital and another in the colonial zone. I'm not sure where else they are available in the country. They have excellent cacao and their chocolate is very good.
 

AlaPlaya

Frequent Flyer
Jan 7, 2021
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Texas
Try as I might, I don't love the Kahkow texture. I really like Cacoteca. And their packaging is pretty. I've found it at various branches of supermercado nacional, jumbo, and olé.
 
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Tom F.

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
699
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Try as I might, I don't love the Kahkow texture. I really like Cacoteca. And their packaging is pretty. I've found it at various branches of supermercado nacional, jumbo, and olé.
I have heard of Cacoteca but have not tasted their chocolate. Good to hear it is available locally.
 

PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
13,280
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Santiago de Los 30 Caballeros
They need an image consultant and a very good outfit to carry out advertising campaigns, the rest lies in the chocolate quality itself.

Image is 40% of a product.
Advertising is 30% and the rest is quality.
 

Tom F.

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
699
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They need an image consultant and a very good outfit to carry out advertising campaigns, the rest lies in the chocolate quality itself.

Image is 40% of a product.
Advertising is 30% and the rest is quality.
Image, I assume you mean packaging and agree with the percentages with chocolate makers here in the US?
 

Tom F.

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
699
91
48
Most of the best cacao goes to Switzerland.
Not sure if that is true. Switzerland has a high per capita consumption rate, and are famous for their processing cacao into chocolate. You need good cacao beans to make good chocolate and only 1-2 % are considered super fine around the world and maybe 5-6 % more put into the very good category. But "most the best" is probably a little high being Switzerland is fairly small from a global perspective. The DR produces about 80,000 tons a year which is about 9th highest producers world wide. Probably only 40-50% of this is fermented and a smaller number is considered high grade. I doubt the Swiss are buying the 20,000 tons a years considered "the best". It is being spread out between many European nations, US, Canada and Japan.
 

Fulano2

Bronze
Jun 5, 2011
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Europe
Probably, I should have been more specific. A friend of mine, has a lot of cacao in the hills of GH, with over a 100 of Haitians employees. He only cultivates “bio” or “organic” cacao, according to EU standards, and yes some goes to Belgium but the rest to Switzerland.
The African producers sell mainly to the USA.
That’s what I am told. He has two shops as well where they sell chocolate. No my cup of tea. Sorry Ramón.
 

Tom F.

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
699
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Probably, I should have been more specific. A friend of mine, has a lot of cacao in the hills of GH, with over a 100 of Haitians employees. He only cultivates “bio” or “organic” cacao, according to EU standards, and yes some goes to Belgium but the rest to Switzerland.
The African producers sell mainly to the USA.
That’s what I am told. He has two shops as well where they sell chocolate. No my cup of tea. Sorry Ramón.
Very interesting. Conacado has a bloque en Joba Arriba, and Cocoa Supply, out of California is originally from that area and there is a women cooperative up there making chocolate also. It is beautiful ride up those mountains to Blanco Arriba and to Tenares. Ivory Coast and Ghana produce around 60 % of the total global production and if you add Nigeria and Cameroon, it is over 70%. The US does buy a great deal of it but there are 5-6 huge companies that dominate the grinding market and thus supply most of the world's chocolate. I would have to look at the number but Europe is pretty close and does consume more per capita than the US or Canada. Your friend only hires Haitian employees?
 

Fulano2

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Jun 5, 2011
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He has some Dominicans but very few comparing to the amount of Haitians. I think the two shops are cooperativas indeed, but are on his estate.