Kakawa {ka-KAW-wa}

Dreams really do come true in Santa Fe. On a very delicious recommendation from one of John's coworkers, we stopped into this adorable little chocolate shoppe, called Kakawa Chocolate House, near old town SF. Best idea of our lives. It completely reminded me of the movie Chocolat; it had the same enchantment. The entire cafe smelled of chocolate and spices, and the counter was bursting with the promise that we had stumbled upon a real treat.

We quickly picked out two chocolates to try, a dark chocolate caramel topped with corse sea salt, and a large "turtle" filled with caramel and walnuts. But the most decadent selections were their chocolate elixirs. YES, CHOCOLATE ELIXIRS.

John was brave and selected the spiciest drink on the menu, the "Aztec Warrior." The girl in the shoppe asked him several times if we was "suuure?" he wanted it and even insisted he have a taste before purchasing. In ancient times, this rich, potent drink was revered as the sacred elixir of royalty and warriors. The flavor is very complex due to the many different spices used...including herbs, nuts, and chili.

I got the "Jeffersonian", which hails back from the time of Thomas Jefferson and the firs t American colonies. This drink was made sweeter and thinner than those of the warriors. Americans used less concentrated chocolate and added more milk, and sweeter flavors. It is said that modern hot coco descended directly from this mixture of semi-sweet chocolate, raw cane sugar, nutmeg, and Mexican vanilla.

"It's your favorite"