Many New Beginnings and Constant Innovation at New Beginnings Toffees and Caramels in Pretoria

Balance

A small business owner lives in two worlds. The one forces him or her to standardize, systematize and consolidate for efficiency. The other calls on constant innovation and change to try and out-manoeuvre competitors and market demands. 

A small business owner is usually good at one of these. At New Beginnings Toffees, it is the latter that stands out. Jan Snyman is always busy with something new. His adventures have one thing in common, delicious toffees and unique chocolate caramels!

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The challenge for a small business owner is to have the right balance in efficiency and innovation. Efficiency is not always tolerant of changes. By doing something in a standard way and scaling it, there are opportunities to increase profitability. Innovation presupposes change and is a very demanding partner that tends to destroy efficiency and gobble up capital. Sometimes, and more often than not, this means that profitability becomes a casualty.

The two are in a dance that is not always obvious to entrepreneurs. These are people that favours the latter, else they would not have bothered to start the business in the first instance. It is a 'chicken and egg' situation. Innovation drives growth, but efficiency drives the bottom line. Being profitable allows further innovation.

The key to the right priority is to know where in the business cycle you find your business. If it is a new business, and the industry allows it, and you have the capital and resources, then innovation should get priority. If it is an established business in a mature industry, it is usually better to consolidate and standardize to achieve efficiency and improved profitability.

The trouble with an entrepreneur is that they usually favour one. Either efficiency or innovation drives them. That is why it is essential as a business owner to recognize your strengths and realize that it has a place in the cycle of the success of your business. It can also quickly become the downfall if you do not temper or supplement your focus to establish important priority on either efficiency or innovation at the right time.

Observations

New Beginnings Toffees is a remarkable business that grew mainly from a necessity for Jan to have a second career. It provided an innovative confection play-pen to him and his partner, Joelean. The result is a substantial array of unique and traditional toffee-chocolate-caramel flavours, creative packaging, promotional positioning and marketing strategies. It is indeed something we have not yet encountered on our travels across the world. It is unique!

The business manufactures and distributes exclusive hand-made confectionary for select retailers, corporate gifting, hospitality industry, wedding favours and markets.

Jan cannot help himself but to continually explore the next possibility within his product development. He certainly landed a few of our favourites like the Turkish Delight Caramel and Treacle Toffee. It is encouraging to see his enthusiasm for creating the next "big" thing.

Unfortunately, South Africa has seen a series of casualties in strong confectionary brands. The toffees that did survive are no longer of the quality they used to be. We can only hope that Jan finds the magic recipe for successfully distributing his delicious products to step into the shoes of those that have gone before him.

Here is to wishing him and Joelean all the success they can handle. May we one day taste a new beginning for toffee-chocolate-caramels all over the world thanks to the work and dedication of New Beginnings Toffees in far-off South Africa.

We hope to have a maple syrup version we can take to Canada, the next time we see him ;-)

Hendrik
Sweet Cowboy

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Toffee TV

Hand-Made

Guilty Pleasures

Many, Many Flavours

o-CNN: Get Your Inner Chocolate Fix With a Monthly Chocolate Box from Kako Chocolate, Auckland, NZ

Direct Subscription

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Part of the joy and fun of having your own business is being able to take it in any direction you want to go.

It is one of the reasons why Stuart at Kako Chocolate continues to innovate. He is a creative chocolatier that makes beautiful and tasty treats. Stuart is always experimenting with new flavours, colours, ingredients and packaging.

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During the last few years, he also shared his knowledge freely with anyone prepared to attend his chocolate mastery classes in Auckland, New Zealand.

Like any artisan maker business, Stuart has to overcome the massive obstacle of getting his product to customers. It is a constant struggle to deliver an affordable product, and also have enough margin to continue to be in business. Typical options include retailing, wholesaling and markets. A key strategy is to sell directly to consumers to maintain higher margins. At the same time, the challenge is to keep overhead low to hold on to the hard-earned cash.

A store on the main street of a town or in a shopping mall makes it easy for customers to find you, but the rents and license fees can quickly make it unprofitable. The alternative is wholesale supply. The typical portion that would have gone to the landlord instead ends up as retail margin in someone else's pocket. That is why markets provide an attractive option for makers. It is a more economical way to sell directly to consumers. However, there is not a market every day.

Online sales is another and increasingly popular option that allows artisans to sell and supply directly to customers without expensive overheads. Shipping cost makes up a fraction of the expense of the sale, and it allows the artisan to keep his or her product affordable with more margin in their pockets.

However, the online world is an enormous place, and it is hard (and can be expensive) to get the attention of prospective customers and keep the awareness of existing ones. This is the single biggest obstacle to overcome. Most artisans do overcome it if their product is delicious, unique and good value and they invest their time and marketing budget carefully in curated and engaging promotional online content.

That is why the direct subscription model is becoming more and more popular particularly for artisans producing consumable products like chocolate, coffee, jams, jellies and more. The thinking is that a customer is likely to buy the product anyway, and the maker fills the anticipated need with a periodic (monthly or weekly) delivery of a favourite and something new, to keep the interest.

The subscription model is favoured over a simple once off sale because, while it may have been relatively easy to get the attention of an online customer once, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get attention and keep it regularly. Ideally, once a customer is engaged, it is better to retain it without the need to entice them frequently for another sale in a very noisy online market. Rather, keep an open channel with the customer through a captivating communication flow like a subscription.

This way everybody wins. The artisan has a steady commitment of customer orders and can plan production accordingly. He or she has the opportunity to make the product more affordable and earn more from it while building brand loyalty. The consumer has the convenience of online shopping and delivery, and one less thing to worry about in their busy schedules. In most cases, the products may even be more affordable and better quality than the store bought options. There is ample opportunity for the maker to innovate and experiment and get timely customer feedback on new products, flavours, preferences and tastes.

This is precisely where Stuart's latest innovation lands. More chocolate, different flavours, more margin, simplicity and great value for chocolate lovers through a My Chocolate Box subscription. All Stuart and his team's chocolate experiments and innovation delivered directly to consumers through a monthly chocolate subscription service.

Observations

My Chocolate Box is a deliciously tasty new way for chocolate lovers to experience a better quality chocolate delivered directly to their door. Unfortunately, the chocolate subscription service is currently only available in New Zealand at the moment. However, if you are in the consumable artisan product business anywhere else in the world, you should pay attention.

Each month, a subscriber receives a chocolate box containing an assortment of gourmet New Zealand handmade Kako chocolate products. They promise not to use flash packaging, which in the chocolate business can sometimes cost more than the product itself. Instead, the subscriber gets more bang for their buck, with lots more product. Less cardboard and plastic. More chocolate!

Stuart's commitment to the new service is to get his subscribers the perfect balance of quantity and quality to wholly capture and keep their chocolate attention. His target for 2017 is to have 2,000 chocoholics enlisted. It sounds like a whole lot of fun and a great way to generate a huge amount of value all round for everyone involved (including the Dentist).

We congratulate Stuart on his newest innovation at Kako and will eagerly follow his journey as he makes his chocolate (prescription) subscription business a reality in New Zealand. Who knows, we may have some of it in Canada soon.

P.S. To become a Kako Chocoholic enlist here: https://www.sweetest.co.nz/my-chocolate-box/

Hendrik van Wyk
Truffle Cowboy

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You Beauties!

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o-CNN: Chocolate and Coffee Show in Auckland, New Zealand

Artisan Collaboration

What do you get when you put cheese and chocolate together, beer and candy, or even better: Bourbon and Honey? We are not sure what you call these creations. Individually they are amazing. Together, we discovered them to be phenomenal!

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The Two Cowboys accepted an invitation from Dale Spencer to attend the annual Auckland Chocolate and Coffee Show. It happened at The Cloud on the Auckland Waterfront, during the recent Fathers Day Weekend (The Kiwi's do Fathers day on a different day to the rest of the world. Here it is done in Spring. As part Kiwi and part Canadian, I get to have Fathers day twice in a year.)

The show made a bold promise: "You will be enticed by irresistible aromas and exotic flavours, amazed by the diversity of products, surprised by the skills displayed, informed about techniques to use at home and excited about everything on offer for two days only at The Chocolate and Coffee Show."

It sounds like poetry, doesn't it? Enticing, amazing, surprising, informing, and exciting. We had to find out more. Come with us...

Observations

We think New Zealand is an oasis in the Producer and maker universe. The sheer number of artisan businesses in this beautiful country is mind-blowing if it is compared to other similar populations, like our native Alberta, Canada. A lot of these businesses are involved in the production of high quality food products. Chocolate and Coffee is no exception.

This makes sense given the agricultural abundance and climate of the two New Zealand Islands. Add to this old-world craftsmanship, with new-world innovation from a growing and ever more energetic immigrant population, and you have a winning recipe for creative artisan enterprise. People come from Italy, France, Brazil, England, South Africa, China, and almost every other nation of the world and end up within a melting pot of reinvention and new creation.

This energy produce quality products, better processes, and all round deliciousness. New Zealand as a country is better off for it. I don't think they know just how lucky they are.

To illustrate my point: In this small market, and in one room on a Sunday morning in downtown Auckland, we've found the worlds best Limoncello, the world's second best Blue Cheese for 2015, a beer that tastes like Rocky Road Candy, Beer Jelly, Chocolate Salami, Pilsner Ganache, Gourmet Nut Butter (with maple Syrup). The list goes on and on.

It is amazing to think that this is only one tiny sliver of a food show, amongst many that take place throughout the year. True food innovation is happening in New Zealand. It is delicious.

How can this be possible?

Here is a theory on why New Zealand has flourishing artisan food businesses:

• New Zealand Attracts Amazing Talent: People from all over the world flock to the safety and lifestyle of New Zealand, with a moderate climate and friendly tolerant people. This talent brings important and unique knowledge and skill from their home countries. They know how to produce some of the worlds best products and they have not choice but to give it a go in an environment that makes it easy to do. 
• Ingredients: Talent is married with amazing ingredients and access to processes and equipment. New Zealand produces some of the best ingredients in the world. Its dairy products are well known. Other ingredients are imported with little effort from all over the world. Equipment is locally manufactured by equally enterprising entrepreneurial engineers, or acquired from Asia, Europe and America. Training and education is accessible, and people are encouraged to be entrepreneurial.
• It is Easy to Do Business in New Zealand: Yes, the mandatory registrations, labour laws, safety compliance, and permitting is around as is expected (overbearing in some cases), but people tolerate the overhead in a flourishing economy. It is going well in New Zealand financially, compared to some of the other markets in the world. People have hope, stability and are encouraged to produce. 
• Access to Customers and Markets: For small artisan food businesses there are a number of market opportunities that stand out. Farmers' markets are abundant and well supported. Food shows and festivals take place often and give exposure to up and coming and established businesses. Online retailing is easy. Shipping locally and internationally is effective and affordable. It is a small country, and people travel easily. Enterprise mobility is encouraged. (New Zealand hasn't really woken up to the mobile food/goods truck scene, but it is only a matter of time before you will find them in main centres. Towns like Nelson (I've heard) have already embraced the movement.)
• Tourism: People from all over the world enjoy New Zealand's products and love to visit for the scenery. Tourism is now New Zealand's largest industry. Businesses serving this discerning market is encouraged, popular and does well financially. If small businesses cannot go to large markets, it is better to encourage these markets to come to you. New Zealand is doing a good job of marketing the country with visitor numbers growing year-over-year. 

As you can see. A lot is going right in New Zealand's small and medium producer business. We love to tell these successful stories. Keep an eye out for more from the Chocolate and Coffee show, and others as we discover them on our amazing journey. We promise to keep it coming.

Hendrik van Wyk
The Cowboy.

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Honeylicious

Someone said beer...

Like Mamma Used to Make

Cold One Candy

Feel It

Like Old Country

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Macaroooon

Marbles

Two Cowboys on a Journey: Kako Chocolate - Auckland, New Zealand

Chocolatiering

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Every few weeks we head to New Zealand to do work for some of our most loyal clients. It is also an ideal opportunity every time, to find and profile inspiring Producers. New Zealand has many, as you probably already know. These people are examples of ingenuity, dedication, innovation and inspiration.

If you've been following our journey, you will know that we get to live and work in two of the most beautiful places in the world: Canada and New Zealand. You would also know that we have some favourite pastimes: Beer, coffee, meat, food festivals, markets, and more. For me, chocolate is a passion. I like to seek out chocolate businesses like Otago Chocolate Company (OCHO). It is wonderful to meet the people behind the business and learn about their inspiration, passion, and motivation for doing what they love to do.

Whenever we make the trip to New Zealand, I have to look up Stu and his team at Kako Chocolate in Auckland. Stu is a fan of my Nougat. That is not why I visit him. He is also the person that introduced me to the world of a chocolatier. Thanks to his chocolate making classes I fell in love with flavour profiling and what Stu calls: "Chocolate Art". Where chocolate is my hobby, for Stu it is a vocation. In his words: "The world without chocolate, is the world I don't want to live in."

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In true Kiwi fashion, Stu and Kako are punching above their weight when compared to other similar businesses elsewhere in the world. At least, we've not met his equal (yet) in Western Canada. What is even more inspiring is to see how this amazing little business has grown over the last couple of years with outstanding and unique products, market reach, and their well-attended chocolate school, which recently celebrated its 2,000th attendee.

Some will consider New Zealand already an overcrowded chocolate market, where companies like Cadbury's are running tail between legs thanks to iconic chocolate manufacturers like Whittaker's Chocolate dominating the market. However, as we all know in business: "Where there is competition, there is also quality." It is this relentless focus on quality and innovation that makes Kako such an interesting business to profile.

A chocolatier is a person or company who makes confectionery from chocolate. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other ingredients.

If you've spent any time amongst chocolatiers, you will know that they are a tricky bunch. Recipes and processes are closely guarded. Suspicion reigns. I will even go as far as to call them a little prickly at times. It may be due to the precision and patience of the craft, or merely the unpredictability of cocoa butter crystallisation and sugar states that rubbed off. It is truly a mad science if you do it right. You have to be more than a little mad to make it a passion.

However, chocolatiers are not as sensitive as chocolate makers. These people deserve a whole blog post to themselves.

Impressions

I've spent a fair bit of time with Stu at Kako, and two observations stand out.

Instead of being the jealous, mad scientist that he can justifiably be, he stepped out of the stereotype by sharing his knowledge. His product is phenomenal, and he shares his knowledge freely through the Kako Chocolate School.

In fact, one of his students in Edmonton supplied chocolate to a store in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. This is where I first came across Kako's colour techniques and tasted its unique flavour profiling. Seeing and tasting this chocolate moved me to research and looked up the company. Big was my surprise, to find them in little New Zealand of all places.

It is safe to say that to learn what Stu can teach you will cost you thousands more with other much larger companies, and you will probably have to relocate to Belgium or Melbourne to get up-to-date technical training in this kind of chocolatiering (yes, I know this is a made-up word).

Stu has lifted the bar on the craft of artisan chocolate, and he is training his competition. New Zealand is better off for it, and soon it will be the world (I will keep this development a secret for now).

The second part of the profile that made an impression on me is that this is a person that decided to re-invent himself, and hasn't looked back since. From being an office worker, he decided to make something. Simple. He still continues on this journey, and the chocolate industry, New Zealand and his community of chocolate lovers are better off as a result.

I am proud to know Stu and to be a graduate of Kako's Chocolate School. I hope there will be much more like me; that benefit from this inspiring little business, on a tiny Island in the South Pacific Ocean called: New Zealand.

Hendrik van Wyk
Chocolatiering Cowboy

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Only in NZ

Passion Hearts

Chocolate Graveyard

Passion

Learning Kako

Two Cowboys: Master Chocolat - Bernard Callebaut, Calgary - Alberta

Obsessed With What You Do...

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What will you do if you lose your business of thirty years, your recipes, your trademarks and even the right to use your own name? You do what you've always done. Passionately, you start again and make the things you love. Every time you work on it, you strive to make it even better! With a name such as Callebaut, one cannot help but have chocolate in your veins. 

Chocolaterie Callebut’ was established in 1911 by Octaaf Callebaut in the small Belgian village of Wieze. His chocolate company took up the same factory building his grandfather Eugène Callebaut, which was founded as a family-run brewing and milling company called ‘De Ploeg’ in 1850. Not far from this location, young Bernard grew up into a world of chocolate.

Bernard wanted to explore the world, and Calgary benefitted as a result. The far west of Canada was introduced to the finer art of flavour when he fell in love with the mountains and the prairie. Here at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Bernard Callebaut established his Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut three decades ago.

He was once Calgary’s king of chocolate. He led a small empire of confection retail stores, a vast distribution network and a well-loved brand. As a fifth generation Belgian chocolatier his 53,000 square foot chocolate factory absorbed a full building, and everybody had Callebaut chocolate for weddings, birthdays, and Christmas in western Canada. 

In 2010 things went wrong. Bernard's bids to hold on to his company failed. Not only did he lose recipes, trademarks and a brand he spent most of his life to build, he even lost the right to use his own name. While you can take everything away from a Producer, the one thing no one can take from him is his Passion. 

Bernard still has the same great love for the product than he's been making as a young entrepreneur chocolatier. He still has the same drive to show, tell and inspire people to taste his chocolate creations. Most of all, he still has his knowledge and skill to make chocolate taste great. No one can trademark, copyright, tax, permit, or take this away from him: Passion and knowledge are his, for good.

Bernard Callebaut is a renowned Master Chocolatier, with five generations of experience behind him. He is always focused on the balance of taste and style. Fellow chocolatiers, chefs and gastronomes around the world revere him. Having brought worldwide recognition to his craft, many accolades have been bestowed upon him, such as:

• Winner for ‘Best Milk Chocolate Bar’ – 2013 International Chocolate Salon Awards in Los Angeles.
• Winner for ‘Best Chocolate Boutique’ – 2013 Top Choice Awards in Calgary.
• Silver Award – 2015 International Academy of Chocolate Awards in London.
• Bernard was the first North American to be bestowed the honour of “l’Ordre  Internationale  de la  Gastronomie  Francaise”, recognized by the French Government for outstanding contribution to the culinary arts.
• As the  founder of  Chocolaterie  Bernard  Callebaut,  he ran  the organization  for over  27  years. Today, the company doesn't even credit its heritage, or him as the founder. 

As  Calgary’s very own father of chocolate, Bernard is still proud to present his offerings and newest creations. He does it now as Master Chocolat with a small stall at the market. He is a Producer at heart. He is still driven to make something of value, make it better, and share it with people that are interested in his creations.

Impressions

We find Bernard where he is most comfortable, at the counter of his little chocolate shop at the Calgary Farmers' Market, where he tells his customers about his greatest passion and shares it with anyone willing to stay a moment to listen and taste Bernard's Artisan Chocolate.

"Starting over is a great opportunity to reinvent," Bernard affirmed. "It gives you a chance to try new things. I get to talk to my customers again, and try new recipes." Bernard shared his secret: The pleasure of seeing a person enjoy his chocolate is one of the biggest drivers that motivates Bernard to keep doing what he does."

When we visited his small factory nearby, we found the same passion with his staff. Bernard shared a piece of chocolate with us that is a new recipe he's been working on. "This one is going to a competition in London. Who knows, maybe they'll like it?" Bernard exclaimed.

It is almost unbelievable to meet a person with Bernard's lineage, background and stature in the world of chocolate. His story is even more amazing. To think that you can lose all you've accomplished, but still hang on to your passion and be proud of who you are and what you've accomplished. It is a privilege to know Bernard and tell a little bit of this phenomenal story.

It is even more amazing to get to know a little more of the person of Bernard Callebaut. Not his chocolate, but the man with a passion for making good chocolate.

This opportunity affirmed for us our own goal of why we should tell the world of our makers and the people that are creating our world: Our Producers. Not the Government. Not the Corporation. Not the Bank. But, these are the people that ultimately create our word. Governments come and go. Banks change and disappear. Some of them can even take your rights away to use their own name. But the one thing they can never take from you the producer is passion! This, Bernard has in spades.

Thank you for this amazing opportunity, Bernard.

Hendrik van Wyk
Producer

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Master

Passion

Master Chocolat

At the Market

Sweet

o-CNN: Cowboy News Network - Farmers Market, Calgary

Calgary Farmers Market - This is a Food Town

Located just off of Blackfoot Trail and Heritage Drive, the Calgary Farmers’ Market was built to be a family friendly, dynamic place for community engagement. Big words for a lot of good food and fun!

Over eighty vendors supply fresh local produce, art, meat, poultry, international food, organic goods, jewelry and more. Yes, they are local. We've checked.

Vancouver has its Granville Island, and Cowtown has its Farmers' Market. Granted, the name is not as fancy, neither is the setting, but at this market you get a solid dose of Alberta production and produce. It appears simple and underwhelming at first until you start talking to some of the vendors. You quickly realize that this market is local market. It is Alberta Producers and their products are on sale.

The market has an amazing array of food vendors. It also caters for the budding entrepreneur and aspiring chef through events such as "Cooking with Your Kids", "Meet the Markers", and "Vino Value Tasting". Sign me up!

Calgary, you have a gem. It is called the Calgary Farmers Market. This town is not only about oil. It is a food town. It is our town.

You should be at the market!

Hendrik van Wyk
Cowboy News Network and Market Enthusiast

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Our Market

Hand Crafted Chocolate

The Wall

Them Too

Two Cowboys on a Journey: Ocho, Dunedin - New Zealand

Bean-to-Bar Chocolate - Otago Chocolate Company

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It is a bit of a closed society, the people that make chocolate. There is a lot of secrecy involved. A key factor in this secrecy is that it is too hot to make chocolate where the cacao beans are grown, so you have to really want to make chocolate to give it a go. While cacao is grown and harvested near the equator, it is not the ideal place for chocolate to be made. It is too hot and humid. The right temperature, knowledge, climate and commitment is required at a totally different location in the world. A place like Dunedin, New Zealand. Only the really motivated Producer can succeed in this business. If you do, it is a delicious business to have.

"If there is a fork in the road, take it. You never know where it will take you..." Liz Rowe, Ocho, NZ

Ocho is a craft bean-to-bar chocolate maker based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Yes, it is the other chocolate company you will find in Dunedin, next to Cadbury New Zealand. I would venture that it is the "real chocolate" company in the beautiful city of Dunedin.

Being a craft chocolate maker means that Ocho imports the fermented and dried beans and make the chocolate from scratch. This includes roasting, grinding, conching and tempering the chocolate before moulding it into bars. Unlike big industrial chocolate makers they use simple equipment and their processes are very hands-on because none of their equipment is automated.

It's a bit like craft beer compared to mainstream beer companies. The beans are roasted and processed in small batches so some variations are possible from batch to batch. They don’t blend any of their chocolate, so each batch is fully traceable back to the farmer co-operative where the beans were grown.

Impressions

Ocho is a real gem of a business that Liz and her two assistants established. We arrived the morning to find a tiny little-shared kitchen and three passionate chocoholics, in the industrial area of Dunedin.

"You should have waited until we are in our new place." is the first words we heard from Liz, as we unpacked our camera gear. Unfortunately, our time in Dunedin was limited. We couldn't wait to do the profile at another date after a scheduled visit with a Producer in Alexandra fell through at short notice.

After meeting Liz and her team, we really were happy that we didn't delay this profile. It is one of the most surprising profiles we've done to-date.

Three things stood out from our visit with Ocho:

• Unbelievable Story: Why trek ten hours into the jungles of Papua Neuguinea for cacao? "Because it makes for special and unique chocolate." according to Liz, a Journalist, Artist and now avid Chocolate Maker Producer. Yes, you've heard it right. Liz hikes into the back country bush to source her ingredients in one of the most inhospitable and primitive locations in the Pacific. Because of this commitment, Ocho's cacao beans and unique flavour of chocolate is something you are unlikely to find anywhere else in the world. She had to tell me the story twice, so unrealistic it sounded the first time I heard it. We were treated to something amazing and groundbreaking in this tiny little kitchen, far away from most of the world. How can something this amazing remain a secret? It cannot! Because Liz is committed to only using cacao that is sourced in the Pacific, her chocolate is unique in many ways. It tastes phenomenal, and it is unique in her commitment to the people that farm the beans. Many of them live in absolute poverty as subsistence farmers.
• Ingenuity: Liz contracted a local engineering student to help her build the equipment for processing the cacao. The beans are cracked with the help of a Bosch drill that cranks the machine. It is winnowed by a vacuum cleaner and a plastic funnel held together with duct tape and fed by a food processing meat grinder. Pure Kiwi ingenuity! It all works to keep the process as simple as possible for capturing the true flavour of what the beans have on offer. Only two ingredients go into the majority of the Ocho chocolate. Cacao and Sugar. That's it! The way it used to be. It leaves you with a range of flavours that work its way through your palate by letting it linger for longer. Truly amazing.
• Nothing Like It: Liz spoiled our taste in chocolate for good. Chocolate will never be the same again! After working your way through 88% PNG, no chocolate can ever be as good as we've had from Liz. During our days in Canada we will be reminiscing about the flavours of Ocho and its uniquely flavoured Pacific cacao beans, and remember the passionate ladies that keep it simple, yet amazing.

We are counting the days until we are back in New Zealand to order and enjoy a delicious Ocho chocolate bar.

We also recommend the Beekeeper's Bar: New Zealand Manuka Honey, Bee Pollen and Puffed Amaranth are added to OCHO's 70% single origin dark chocolate in this bar. The amaranth and bee pollen combine to give a soft crunch to the chocolate and bring a mild toasted flavour, while the Manuka honey adds a strong honey flavour for a lingering finish reminiscent of summer in a beech forest. You can get it here (ocho.co.nz).

Now tell me if this isn't amazing!!

Hendrik van Wyk
Producer and Second Cowboy

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