Road Trip Close To Home: Chocolate lovers can make their own sweet creations at Maplewood’s Kahkow

From the first crack of a chocolate bar to the first bite, there's a lot more to chocolate than meets the eye. At Cacao in Maplewood, the experience starts long before the finished product hits the shelves. We actually have single origin cacao, so that means that our cacao is only from the Dominican Republic. So we're able to trace the entire process from bean to bar. The company works with cacao at multiple stages of production, and the variety doesn't stop at flavor. Cacao's bars range from 39% all the way up to 100%. With no added sugar or milk in the darkest option, all the bars are 100% vegan, made without dairy and using alternative milks. We are very blessed in our island that we have a lot of different profiles. So we're able to really develop chocolate with a lot of different flavors naturally. It's definitely quality over quantity. We really want our visitors to come in and be able to taste the difference in quality. But this isn't just a place to pick up something sweet. Cacao also offers a hands-on chocolate-making experience and tour, giving visitors a chance to go behind the scenes, learn from chocolatiers, and create a personalized chocolate bar to take home. It's an opportunity to see the work that goes into making a treat so many of us enjoy without giving it a second thought. This is kind of an educational experience. We really want you guys to see where the cacao comes from, how it turns into chocolate, and kind of everything in between. And really just leave with a greater appreciation for chocolate. Bridging the gap between pastry professionals, or even becoming your own chocolatier at home, it's a sweet way to get a taste of the world of chocolate without traveling far from home. For this week's Road Trip Close to Home, I'm Amanda Eustace.