CacaoAbunga is a bean to bar chocolate company based on the south side of chicago that uses fair trade and direct trade beans to produce high quality truffles and Gianduja spreads. The longtime Chicago residents and world travelled partners, Danny and Jay, former glass blowers and general entrepreneurs, started this company out of a genuine love for chocolate. Their facility in The Plant in the back of the yards on the southside of Chicago is where they roast the beans, grind up the nibs, and manufacture a unique blend of chocolate that showcases the dark rich undertones of the bean while still maintaining the sweet taste that you know and love.
At 68-70% their blend of Cacaoabunga chocolate rides the line between dark, bitter, and sweet. Whether using beans from Trinidad, Ecuador, Peru, Madagascar, India, or Costa Rica, a moment of bliss converges in your mouth from their lovely truffles as you experience the mouth feel from the cocoa butter, the suble nuances of the bean, and the delicious range of ganaches (fillings) that are all handcrafted to perfection so that you can take a moment for yourself or share the experience with your loved ones. Step into a world that they are proud to share with you while they teach you a little bit about this bean that is so precious to them. While Danny has been the long time chocoholic, Jay traveled to the Phillipines and to Costa Rica to visit Cacao farms and took chocolate classes in San Francisco so that they could build a shop when they found themsleves back in Chicago. Once the shop was built is was only a short matter of time before Danny could learn all about this wonderful bean and continue to create products that bring joy to people around the world.
In addition to their lovely truffles, they also specialize in making a magnificent Vegan alternative to nutella. Gianduja, the Italian word for 'nutella' was a way to make your chocolate last longer in societies where the beans might not have been as accessable all the time. With minimal ingredients and no preservatives or additives, this delicious blend of chocolate and nut butters called "I can't believe it's Nut Butter" is surprisingly more healthy and tasty! Heat it up and spread it all over your toast, bread, donut, ice cream, or just dip your finger in and enjoy this amazing chocolate spread. With a choice of hazelnuts, macadamia, almond or pistachio you will be sure to join the chocolate gods in your own version of heaven and be able to take a moment where time sits still.
For more information on the chocolate making process, Cacao farms around the world, and the happenings of the Cacao industry visit us often as we update our site and see what new products we come up with or visit us at the many farmers markets and pop ups around the city and talk chocolate with us. We will have a list of the events that we are attending year round and markets as the 2022 season starts so that you can stay up to date and find our chocolate around the Chicagoland area.
Drop us a line and give us a follow at cacaoabunga on instagram or Cacao Abunga on facebook. Stop by The Plant on Feb 13 and meet head chocolatier Danny and pick up some chocolate for your loved one or yourself as we encourage you to love yourself, because if you don't love yourself you cant love anyone else.
