If there is a treat capable of seducing young and old and pairing perfectly with both savory and sweet dishes, this is it. chocolate. What many consider a culinary pleasure, for others it is a philosophy, a lifestyle, a product from which they can get the most out of.
In 2017, a family business in the province of Biscay dedicated to production of chocolate and coffee specialties and which, in the past, has achieved international recognition. In fact, one year after its creation, one of its products won world gold in the flavored white chocolate category of the “International Chocolate Awards”.
The company is called Kaitxowhich bases its philosophy on the production of chocolates with the “bean to bar” techniquewhose objective is to develop a product in which the manufacturer participates in the entire process, from the selection of the grain to the moment of its sale.
How was Kaitxo born?
“Everything was born from our love for these exotic products and our passion for making specialty coffees and chocolates. Jon Mikel became curious about coffee at his family’s coffee shop. From a very young age, Raquel loved discovering the best ‘gourmet’ chocolates in the world, she tasted them and collected their packets, dreaming of these cocoa plantations”, they explain on their website.
Kaitxo stands out for personally and comprehensively choose cocoas from different parts of the world in order to manufacture high quality chocolates and offer products with unique flavors and aromas.
From start to finish
To make a chocolate bar, the first thing they do at Kaitxo is an exhaustive selection of quality beans. “We want come from responsible and fair-trade plantations with cooperatives and farming families”, they emphasize on their website.
As soon as the beans arrive at the cellarthe time would come select the best ones, clean them and go to the next step: the roast. After, They extracted the grain from the beans and refined them with its stone mill known as “conchadora”. “We process it for different periods, depending on the variety of cocoa, until we obtain the perfect texture,” they specify on their website. The final steps would be mold shape the chocolate and packaging.
A bar of chocolate to accompany the beer
Their caramelized pistachio chocolate bar was the product with which they obtained the silver medal in the European edition at the ‘International Chocolate Awards’, in addition to the aforementioned award. It is available on their website at a price of 7 euros.
Out of curiosity, on their site they explain that this chocolate bar It is perfect to accompany beer. Furthermore, they admit that “it was designed to create a tasting pairing with craft beers and its success was such that we were forced to market it”.
From chocolate to specialty coffee
Specialty coffee is Kaitxo’s other flagship product. They also work with a demanding process to sell your “specialty coffee”which includes steps such as selective harvesting of ripe berries through to roasting, including direct relationships with producers.
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